An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III
by Eternal Silver Flame
Summary: Sequel to An Unfortunate Miracle: Parts I & II. It's Ivy's third year in the Potterverse, and times are getting darker as the Wizarding world quickly falls under Death Eater control. More summary inside. DH Spoilers!
1. Intermission

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter One

_Intermission_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** HAPPY HARRY POTTER DAY! WOO! I hope you're all having Support Harry Potter Parties. I am. Even as I post this, I'm already dressed in my Ivy costume, complete with wand star-shaped necklace (I've looked everywhere for a star-shaped locket, but have yet to find one). I'm so excited, both for my party and this story. I really think you're going to like it, and possibly hate me later on. I'm having an underground bunker built, in case Kaylin decides to kill me. She's the only one who knows where I live. _

_Anyway, this is the only chapter I have completely finished at the moment. I usually like to have the first few chapter written out before I post chapter one, but I've been putting it off because it'll only bring me closer to the end, which I'm very much in denial about [sob. I do have some events planned out for certain, it's just a matter of finding time to get it all written. So please be patient. I'm trying to deal with the load of school work that never seems to end. _

_If you haven't already, **Please reread chapter one of Part I!** I've completely rewritten it, and things mentioned in that introduction will be very important in the end. I've also changed chapter fourteen of Part II to fit the seventh book, so you can reread it if you want, but it's not as important as changed made in Part I. _

_I was thinking the other day about whether I'll still be writing _Harry Potter _fan fiction in the future. I really can't imagine not writing _Harry Potter _stories now, I've been at it for so long (around seven years next year!). I love writing, so much so that I've been seriously considering switching my major from Music Business to some kind of writing. The problem is, I have no idea how to tell my parents (who've been paying for my tuition, God bless them) that they've been wasting thousands of dollars on music classes that I'm not going to need. _

_I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm calling the dimension where the Wizarding world is real the Potterverse, and where they're only books I'm calling the Rowling Universe. Yeah. Just to clear up any confusion about the summary. _

_My rant about book seven, if you haven't heard yet, will eventually be on my LiveJournal page (see my author's page for the link). Just a warning for all of you, Deathly Hallows spoilers abound after this paragraph. In fact, there's one in the next paragraph. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ If I owned the _Harry Potter _franchise[George wouldn't be sad. (Spoiler censored for those who have yet to read the book, for some reason). _

_**Summary:**__ Sequel to An Unfortunate Miracle: Parts I & II. It's Ivy's third year in the Potterverse, and times are getting darker as the Wizarding world quickly falls under Death Eater control. While the Rowling Dimension awaits the releases of book seven and the fifth movie, Ivy must keep her secret more closely guarded then ever. DH Spoilers!_

* * *

Walking down the hallway, I came to a halt outside Scott's room. He was standing in the middle of his room, scratching his head. "Scott, hurry up, we haven't got all night!" 

My brother glared at me. "Well, Ivy, you didn't tell me we were leaving today. Why can't we wait a day or two?"

I sighed in annoyance. "Because I already bought the plane tickets, and Lee and Aunt Becky aren't around to insist on seeing us off. Do you have all Lee's school books in your trunk?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"And your wand?"

"_Yes_, go away!"

With one last "Hurry," I continued down the hall to my own room. I sat down at my desk and pulled a piece of parchment and a regular Muggle pen toward me and started scribbling.

_Fred and George,  
__I've decided not to wait. I'm taking Scott to you-know-where tonight. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days. Please take care of Tobey while I'm gone.  
__Sorry for the abrupt departure, love you both,  
__Ivy_

I tossed my pen down on the desk, rolled up the short letter tightly, and conjured a green ribbon from my wand, which tied itself flawlessly around the scroll. My tawny owl, Tobey, flew down from the top of the wardrobe, landed on my shoulder, and stuck out her leg expectantly.

I smiled slightly. "Sorry, Tobey, gotta wait until we leave. Don't want anyone trying to follow us to the airport." Tobey fluttered down to the desk and watched as I headed to my bed, where my duffle bag lay half-packed. I carefully dropped another spell book into my bag. Over the last month, I had been collecting and learning as many defensive spells, jinxes, curses, and hexes as I possibly could. I would need them if I wanted a better chance of making it to the final battle.

I dropped _An Intermediate Guide to Dueling_ into the bag and stood up, looking for anything else I should be taking. I sighed. "Of course." I got down on the floor and crawled carefully under the bed. I pulled out my wand and removed the cloaking charm that hid the six _Harry Potter_ books. I piled them up and pushed them out from under the bed before crawling out myself.

I piled them one by one on top of the spell books. Out of habit, I took extreme care with _Goblet of Fire_ (which had lost its cover at one point). I hesitated with the last book, _Philosopher's Stone_. I flipped through it, pausing at some of my favorite parts. Hagrid on Sirius's flying motorbike...Uncle Vernon shouting about how motorbikes didn't fly..."Scabbers" biting Goyle...the disastrous first flying lesson...Fred and George knowing they were called Gred and Forge...

I smiled slightly and closed the book and stared at it. Next month would be the seventeenth year of the _Harry Potter_ series. I didn't know how long it was until the seventh book came out, but I guessed it would be soon. I hadn't been to the Rowling Dimension for a while, and therefore didn't even know the title.

"What are you doing?" Scott demanded suddenly from the door. I jumped, startled. "I thought we were leaving?"

"Are you finally ready?" I asked, putting _Philosopher's Stone_ in my bag and zipping it closed. "Are you sure you have everything?"

He rolled his eyes. "_Yes_!"

I smiled slightly and zipped my bag closed. "All right." I stood up and shouldered my bag, staggering a bit under the weight of six novels and eight spell books. Scott sniggered. "Shut up."

"What have you got in there?"

I unzipped the bag and started pulling out books. "Six _Harry Potter_ books and a bunch of spell books."

"You're kidding," Scott said, coming over to look at the books. "So you're basically going to America to _study_?"

"No, I'm going to America to see my friends and get you out of Voldemort's way." I put Feather-Light Charms on a few of the books and piled them back into the bag. I tried picking it up again and was happy to find that it was easier to carry.

"Are we going now?"

"Yeah, yeah, get your trunk." Tobey hooted suddenly and flew over, carrying the letter to Fred and George in her beak. "Oh, right. I gotta send Tobey to the twins, and send a Patronus to Remus so the Order doesn't wonder where I am – "

"Can you at least levitate my trunk down the stairs?" Scott asked as we left my room. "I'll probably break my neck doing it myself."

Once Scott's trunk was near the door downstairs, I put down my bag and started tying the twin's letter to Tobey's leg. "Stay here a minute," I told Scott. "I've gotta send this, and then we'll Apparate to the airport." He nodded and sat down on top of his trunk.

I went outside, to the Potterverse, where a light rain was falling. Tobey ruffled her feathers and looked at me reproachfully. She didn't like flying in the rain. "Sorry, Tobey, but you've got to take this for me." She hooted softly. "Stay with Fred and George for a few days. I'll be in the States, so don't let them try to send you there. Go ahead." She took off, disappearing in the rain towards Diagon Alley.

After casting a quick glance around at the deserted street, I pulled out my wand and sent a Patronus message – a spell I had spent months practicing before I finally got it right – to Remus Lupin: _Leaving with Scott, be back in a few days._

I hurried back into the house, where Scott was sitting on his trunk, waiting for me. "All right," I said, grinning, "let's get going."

* * *

An hour later, Scott and I were on the plane. It was nothing short of a miracle that I'd managed to get two adjacent seats only seven hours before take-off. It was also amazing that I managed to get through security with my wand in my pocket (though that was because I Confunded the security guard). I was sitting by the window, and Scott was on the aisle seat. He was reading _Order of the Phoenix_ for the first time. 

"I can't believe we're in here," he said suddenly. It was nearly nine o'clock London time, and we'd been in the air for almost two hours. "We weren't before, were we?"

"Shush," I said warningly, as a girl in the row in front of us glanced back. She'd been looking back at us every few minutes ever since Scott had asked for the _Harry Potter_ book. I suspected she was a fan. I shook my head at Scott, and he returned to the book. I looked back at my book, fingering my wand in my pocket. I was itching to try out the hex I was reading about, the Canary Hex. I was fairly certain it was the same hex that Fred and George used on their Canary Creams.

"Are you fans?"

I jumped. The girl ahead of us had finally decided to speak to us. My first instinct was to slide my spell book off the table and into my duffle bag, but I remembered I had disguised the spell books just like I had the _Harry Potter_ books a year and a half ago. I gave Scott a warning look, and he just rolled his eyes at me.

"You could say that," he said. "Not as much as her," he gestured at me, "she's obsessed." I sighed inwardly as the girl grinned at me. I didn't want a lot of attention for looking like Ivy Wolfe, but I knew what she was going to say next.

"You know, you remind me of Ivy Wolfe." Bingo. "Did you know some people say she might be Lily and Sirius's daughter that Harry doesn't know about?"

Scott and I both stared at her for a moment, my mouth hanging open slightly. Then I couldn't help it: I laughed outright. "That's – that's ridiculous!" I exclaimed between laughs. Scott was ginning too.

She looked surprised at our reactions. "It's not that far-fetched, you know. Why else would she have transferred to Hogwarts so late?"

I wiped tears of mirth from my eyes. "She didn't transfer. She had no magical training before Hogwarts. She didn't find out she was a witch until she went to live with Lee. Her cousin. If Ivy was Lily's daughter, she, Lee, and Harry would all be related and Harry could've gone to live with Lee and his mother instead of the Dursleys."

The girl shrugged. "I just heard about it. What do you think about Snape?"

I stopped laughing abruptly. "What about him?" I asked, perhaps more harshly than I should have.

The girl raised her eyebrows. "You know, good or evil?"

"Evil," I said without hesitation. "You?"

She shrugged again. "I'm not really sure. I lean toward good, though. Why hasn't he killed Harry at some point during the sixteen years he's been at school?"

"Isn't Voldemort supposed to kill Harry?" Scott asked.

She nodded. "That would fulfill the prophecy."

I snorted derisively. "Please, Harry could get hit by a _bus_, and the prophecy would be fulfilled."

She laughed. "That's true, I never thought of that." I grinned. "Well, whether he's good or evil, I'm sure the book'll turn out good. Do you see the movies?"

I smirked. "Oh yes. I'm going to the London premiere in July with a friend of mine."

"Lucky!" she exclaimed. "I live a little ways north of Minneapolis, and closest premiere is in Chicago, so I doubt my dad'll let me go there. So you live in England?"

"Yeah, near Soho Square in London. We moved there a few years ago."

"Where in America are you from?"

"Nevada." Scott frowned and opened his mouth to protest. "My name's Amanda," I said quickly, before he could say anything. "My brother Josh," I added, gesturing at Scott.

"Shannon."

We spent the rest of the flight talking about _Harry Potter_, our personal lives (mine and Scott's carefully edited by me), and our families. We reached Minneapolis at five o'clock their time, where we said goodbye to Shannon, and then got on a connecting flight to Los Angeles. The plane finally touched down in L.A. at two in the morning. I managed to get Scott and myself a cab home to Simi Valley. We didn't even bother to try unpacking before falling into our beds, exhausted from the flight.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Well, folks, there you have it. Part III has begun! WOO! I'm actually going to finish this one, you should all be very excited. I've been worrying all summer that I was going to lose interest and take it down, as usual. But here I am with Part III almost entirely planned out! It's just a matter of filling in the gaps and writing out chapters, when I have time free from homework. Not often, though. Part III is the most difficult fan fiction I've ever written, in more ways than one. I sincerely hope you won't hate me by the end of it. _

_To Kaylin: It's Shannon! YAY! _

_Ooh! Guess what I found! Foreshadowing, in book one, of Fred's death! It's on page 203 in the American edition and page 149 in the British edition. Harry pulls a wizard cracker with Fred and it goes off with "a blast like a cannon" and surrounds them in blue smoke. Familiar, yeah? Yeah? _

_Review for more!_


	2. The Last Time

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Two

_The Last Time_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Most of this chapter is a reminder of Kailee's back-story, and clearing up questions raised by the epilogue of Part II. But don't worry, there's main plot stuff in here too. I've chosen (finally) Simi Valley, California, as Ivy's hometown. Hey, do any of you live there? 'Cause that would be awesome. _

_Sorry this took so long. It's all Kaylin's fault (not really). Actually, I had this one all ready to go two weeks before Thanksgiving, but then I realized I made an error that totally goes against canon, and then I had to fix it. It wasn't huge, really something you wouldn't know unless you've read a certain interview with JKR, but it would have bothered me. Then I wanted to plan a bit more of the story before I posted much more (see below). So yeah. Also, school sucks poo. _

_Hooray for me! I'm going to Disney World when school gets out in May! YAY! I wanted to go to DragonCon 2008 in Atlanta on Labor Day weekend, but I've decided to wait until 2009. I hope James and Oliver Phelps will be there that year. That's the main reason I wanted to go in 2008, and also because I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta. Yay Braves! James, Oliver, and Matthew Lewis were at DragonCon 2007 last Labor Day weekend (get away from me, Foreshadowing Gnome!), and I so wish I could have gone. _

_In case I don't get it into the story, I'm going to tell you now what Clover looks like, before I forget. She's Haitian, like my good buddy Amanda! Black hair, dark brown eyes. She's slightly shorter than Ivy, and Kailee is too tall. I mean, Kailee is taller than Ivy. One change from what I've said before: CloneKailee has dyed-blonde hair. WitchKailee's hair is its natural red. _

_Oh my. I've been really working hard on planning all this out. I've got a calendar chart made up that has all significant events from each chapter of my story. I've just finished my tentative chapter plan, and the number is in: forty-three chapters, which covers early June 1997 to late May 1998! Wow. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the longest story I've ever written. The number of chapters is subject to change, of course, depending on how many too-short chapters I squish together to make longer ones. _

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Burger King. I do work there, though. If I owned it, I would get paid more than $6.25 an hour. (Shakes fist at manager.) I don't get paid for promoting the yummy food at Burger King, but you should go there. Also, if you don't know, Rodeos are cheeseburgers with only barbeque sauce and three onion rings. Very yummy, and it also belongs to the King. _

* * *

Scott and I weren't up until around noon. First on the list was to take Scott to Kailee's and convince her to take in Scott. I called her, but received no answer. I brushed it off, assuming her family had gone on vacation or something, and called Clover instead.

"Ivy!" she exclaimed when she answered the phone. "You're back early!"

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I managed to get tickets for a seven o'clock flight yesterday after the funeral. Can Scott and I come over? I need you to do me a favor."

"Yes!"

I smirked. I could almost see her in my mind's eyes, bouncing slightly with excitement. "All right, we'll be there in a minute. Can you tell me the address again?" Clover had told me in one of her letters that she'd gotten her own apartment over the summer. She told me, and I nodded to myself, committing it to memory. "See you."

I Apparated with Scott to the door of Clover's apartment, and then knocked on the door. Clover opened it, looking confused for a moment. Then her face split into a huge grin. "Ivy!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around me in a hug that almost knocked me over.

I laughed. "Miss me much?"

"Yes! Hey Scott, how are ya?" she added to him.

"All right," he said shortly, shrugging.

"Can we go inside?" I asked. "I'm sure you want to hear about England."

"Yeah, come on," Clover said, and led us inside. "Sorry it's a mess."

"It's fine," I said, looking around. It seemed slightly smaller than my own apartment, and the kitchen was part of the living room. "Nice place."

"People above me are loud, and the people below me are always up all night."

I laughed. "So where's Kailee? I tried calling her, but no one answered. Is she working?"

"Kailee?" Clover asked, frowning. "That Irish girl you met in England?"

My mouth fell open. I'd never told her about that! "What are you talking about? Kailee Hunter, remember, we've been friends with her since sophomore year."

"I don't know who you're talking about," Clover insisted. "The only Kailee I know is the one you mentioned in your letter a few months ago."

I gaped at her for a moment, then looked at Scott, wondering if he'd forgotten Kailee's clone as well. It didn't seem like it; he was rolling his eyes, as though he thought Clover was joking. He knew the truth about Kailee; she'd told him when he ran into her at Hogwarts. I turned back to her. "You've got to be kidding me. She was here last summer when I visited! She drew me a picture of the Hungarian Horntail from the fourth movie! It's on my wall at home!" She looked like she was worried for my sanity. I threw my hands up in the air. "Come on, we're like the Harry, Ron, and Hermione of Muggle America!"

"What are you talking about?"

She looked truly worried about me. I looked at Scott, at a loss for what to do. He shrugged, looking just as confused as I felt. I turned away from them, running my hands through my hair. "Need to think, need to think..." I muttered, closing my eyes. Why had the clone Kailee apparently ceased existing? I racked my brain, searching through _Harry Potter_ facts, trying to find a reason. Then it came to me.

I spun around to face Scott. "Dumbledore died," I said, "and he was the one who created the clones. D'you think they died with him? That's what happened with the Body-Bind Dumbledore put on Harry in the Astronomy Tower."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Do all spells work like that, though?"

"I don't know."

"What are you talking about?" Clover repeated.

"Kailee Hunter's clone," I said, but that only served to confuse her more. "I can't believe you don't..." I sighed. "Okay, apparently I've told you about the real Kailee in England so I'll just go from there. During the first war with Voldemort, Kailee's family came to America, this America in the Rowling Dimension, to escape it. After Voldemort's defeat, they stayed here until it was time for her older sister, Skie, to go to Hogwarts. Then they went back to the Potterverse, to Ireland so Skie could go to school. Dumbledore created clones for them, so when they left, apparently disappearing off the face of the earth, they wouldn't have to cast a billion memory charms. I guess when Dumbledore died, the spell ceased, and everyone here forgot about her and her family."

"Then why do you remember her being here?" Clover asked. "Why didn't you forget?"

I shrugged. "Scott and I are the only ones in this dimension that knew the American Hunter family were clones, that might be it. Or because we're magic." I sat down on the small sofa nearby. She may have just been a clone of the real thing, but I still felt like I had lost one of my best friends. "What – What do you remember about the night of June fourth?"

She frowned, thinking. "Uh...I was reading book six. I went to bed around midnight. I'd just finished the chapter where Snape killed Dumbledore. Why?"

"That's the night Dumbledore was killed," I said, then frowned. "Wait, when did you start reading the books?"

"After you left last time you were here." She looked from me to Scott and back again. "So...what's the favor you wanted?"

"Oh, right," I said, grateful for the change of subject. "I was going to ask Kailee, but since, well..." I sighed. "I need you take care of Scott here in California until Voldemort's defeated." She frowned. "I'm going back to fight, and he'll be safer here than in England. I know you haven't got a lot of space here, but Scott can stay at our parent's house. I just need you to keep an eye on him, make sure he's keeping up with studying. He's still got the Trace, but the Ministry can't trace us here."

"The Trace?"

"It's how the Ministry detects underage magic," I explained. "It breaks when you turn seventeen."

"Oh. Well, I'll watch him," she agreed. "When are you coming back?"

I bit my lip. "I – uh – I won't be. This is the last time I'm coming back until the war's over. I gave Scott a thousand pounds – two thousand dollars, really, we had it changed over in Minneapolis. But he's only to use it for food and necessary clothing," I said, speaking to Scott as much as I was Kailee. He rolled his eyes at me, and I turned back to Clover. "If there's an emergency, he has mine and Aunt Becky's signatures so he can get into my savings account at the bank. He's also got one of Fred and George's Forgery Quills so he can copy them."

"Will the spell wear off like the spell-checking ones?" Clover asked with a smirk. "I doubt they'll take something that's signed 'Roonil Wazlib'."

I snorted. "They said it shouldn't, but if it turns out that it does, I'll send another along."

"Hey," Clover said suddenly. "You haven't asked about Justin!"

I blinked. I hadn't given Justin a second thought for days. I'd only been thinking about getting Scott to safety ever since the battle. Everything else I'd been thinking about had been George. I blushed slightly at the thought. "Well, you haven't asked about George," I retorted.

She looked taken aback. "What's George got to do with Justin?" she asked incredulously. "I know you kissed him under the mistletoe at Christmas, but – "

"First of all," I said with a laugh, "That was a prototype of the twins' Makeout Mistletoe. The spell had the unfortunate side-effect of me not remembering the kiss at all." Clover look disappointed, and Scott looked curious. I hadn't told him about the Makeout Mistletoe incident. "Second of all, you need to finish reading the book, Clover," I said with a wink.

For a second, she stared at me, clearly not getting it. Then realization dawned. "Oh my God!" she gasped. "You're going out with him?"

I laughed. "Yes," I nodded. "I don't think he'll be too happy that I left without telling him. I meant to tell him when I picked up Scott from King's Cross yesterday, but they weren't there. I sent him a note with Tobey before I left, but – "

"Uh, Ivy?" Scott asked suddenly. "Should we have left a note for Aunt Becky?"

I gaped at him. "Aw, shit, we forgot! She's gonna worry like crazy. Hopefully the twins'll talk to Lee and he'll tell Aunt Becky before she scours the country looking for us." I sighed. "Hopefully no one else will realize we've disappeared off the face of the earth for two days." My stomach growled suddenly. "How about we go out to eat?"

* * *

Half an hour later, we pulled into the Burger King parking lot. "Didn't you use to work here?" Clover asked as she turned off the car.

"Yeah," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Boy, have I missed Rodeos. They don't have those in England, you know." Scott, Clover, and I walked into Burger King. I saw only one person I recognized, heading for the register as we walked in. "Hey Liz!" I called.

Her eyes widened a little as she recognized me. "Ivy!" she shrieked. "I haven't seen you in forever! You went to England, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I missed good old Simi Valley, though."

"Where are you living?"

"I've got an apartment in London near Soho Square, it's great."

Scott suddenly elbowed me. "There are people behind us, and I'm hungry."

"Ooh, yeah!" I exclaimed, pulling out my wallet. "A rodeo and a medium ring."

Liz shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She turned toward the kitchen. "I need a Rodeo!" she shouted.

A few minutes later, we got our food and sat down at a booth. "So what have we missed?" I asked as I unwrapped my burger. "Other than Kailee's disappearance from the face of the earth?" I added in an undertone, glancing around at other customers and a boy I didn't know who was sweeping the dining room.

Clover shook her head. "I wish I remembered her. She sounds pretty cool."

"'Course she is. I'll have to bring her along next time I come back."

"George too!" she ordered, shaking a Chicken Fry at me. "I have to make sure he's good enough for you." I snorted with laughter. "Do he and Fred look like the Phelps Twins?"

I shook my head. "James and Oliver – the Phelps Twins – they're six-one. Fred and George are...I dunno. Five-eight? Taller than me, but shorter than Kailee. Of course, you don't remember how tall she is." I went to take a bite of my Rodeo, but stopped, panicking slightly. "When's the seventh book come out?"

"Not till next month," Clover said. "July Twenty-Seventh? Maybe the week before that, I'm not sure. _Order of the Phoenix_ comes out on the thirteenth. Of July."

"I might sneak away to see the movie if I can." I grinned. "Hey, do you know if Scott and I are in it?"

Clover nodded, laughing. "Yeah, you're on the poster. I'm not sure about you though, Scott." He shrugged, looking only half-interested. "Are you going to read the book?"

"No," I said immediately. "I have enough guilt about Sirius and Dumbledore's deaths, I don't need any more. Do you know what's it called?"

"_Deathly Hallows_. The cover's all over the internet if you want to see it. Nick's been going crazy, wondering what Harry and Voldemort are reaching for."

"You have to show me when we get back to your place."

"Sure. Any idea what the title means?"

I frowned, thinking. "No. I don't think I've heard it before. Anyway, I wouldn't tell you even if I did know. Don't look at me like that," I said as she glared at me. "The meaning of the title's probably half the book. If you read it already knowing, you wouldn't enjoy it was much. So you'll just have to read the spoilers on the internet like everyone else." I swallowed the last bit of my burger. I spoke quietly, leaning closer to Scott and Clover. "And no matter what you read or what you hear, do not try to contact me at all. Don't call Aunt Becky or write letters. If they're read by the wrong people..." I trailed off, and both of them nodded. "So you promise not to contact me, no matter what?"

"Yup."

"I promise."

I nodded, satisfied. "Good." I picked up an onion ring. "So what non-Harry Potter events have I missed?"

Clover laughed suddenly. "Oh my God, Brittney Spears shaved her head!"

I laughed. "You're _joking_!"

We spent the next half-hour chatting, Scott putting his two cents in every once in a while.

"And it snowed in L.A., it was crazy. I didn't have to go to school, a lot of the roads were closed down, and – " She stopped suddenly, staring towards the door behind me, her mouth hanging open. Scott looked at her, then followed her gaze, and his eyes widened. Frowning at both of them, I turned and saw a guy with black hair heading for the front counter. It took me a moment to recognize him.

Justin Wallace.

I gasped. "Oh God, not now!" I tried to hide in the corner of the booth, hoping he wouldn't notice me, but no such luck. He saw me. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he headed for our table. "Do you think anyone'll notice if I Disapparate?" I asked Scott desperately.

He snorted derisively. "And you're supposed to be in Gryffindor?" he whispered.

"Ivy!" Justin had reached us. He was grinning. "You're back!"

"Uh, yeah," I said nervously. "Just for a couple days, then I'm going back."

His smile faded slightly. "Oh. Well, can I talk to you a minute? Alone?" he added, glancing at Clover and Scott.

I sighed inwardly. Better get it over with. "Yeah, all right." I got up and followed Justin outside. We sat down on the sidewalk. "So how was Australia?" I asked.

He looked at me. "I know it was a little strange – "

I laughed. "Strange? Try extreme."

He sighed. "Ivy, I – "

"Look, you don't have to explain. Clover, Kailee, and I figured it out. You dropped out of school and went to Australia because you thought I was dating George." He looked surprised. "But there was nothing going on between George and me. If you'd read the entire letter, you'd know that I was waiting to see you again before I acted on anything."

"Oh. Well, d'you still – I mean – "

I watched as a couple of school-age kids rode by on bikes. "I think I gave up on you months ago, Justin. I said there wasn't anything between George and I then, but there is now."

Justin didn't say anything for a moment. "How long?"

"How long have I been with George?" He nodded. "Four days," I said, not really needing to count. "I'll have to bring him along next time I come to California. It could be a while before I can, though, there's a lot going on in England at the moment – "

"You _are_ Ivy Wolfe."

He was looking at me with wide eyes. I frowned slightly. "Uh, last time I checked?"

He shook his head. "No, you're Ivy Wolfe, from the _Harry Potter_ books."

My mouth was hanging open slightly. I shut it. "Don't – don't be stupid," I said quickly.

"Exactly, I'm not. C'mon, she has a black dog, her brother's name is Scott, she's from California, she was holding hands with George Weasley at the funeral. Have I missed anything?"

I rolled my eyes. "All right, fine, it is me." I looked around, and then pulled out my wand. "_Accio Rock_." A nearby rock zoomed into my hand, and Justin's eyes widened. I tossed the rock away and put my wand away. "Only my friends know. And you can't tell anyone, even if they'd believe you."

He nodded. "So Kailee's a witch too? Why was she Irish in the books?"

I looked at him, shocked. "You _remember_ her?!"

He gave me a funny look. "Of course I do. I went out with her for a month or two, remember?"

I shook my head. "Yes – I mean, no, but – Gah!" I exclaimed. "This is so fucking confusing!"

He looked absolutely shocked at the way I was reacting. "What is?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay. The Kailee you remember isn't the real Kailee. The real Kailee is the one portrayed in the books. I'm not going to explain the whole thing for the second time today, but the American Kailee is a clone of the Irish one that Dumbledore created when she and her family moved to Ireland. I'm thinking the clones ceased existing when Dumbledore died, and now no one but me and Scott remember her. Even Clover's forgotten. I just don't understand how you remember when no one else I've talked to does." I frowned. "Maybe it's just confined to Simi Valley," I wondered aloud. "Were you in Australia four days ago?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"That's probably it. I'll ask Kailee when I get back to England." I shrugged, smiling slightly. "Let's go back in. I want to see if I can get another free Rodeo."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I really don't like that transition from Ivy worrying about Aunt Becky to her being hungry, but I couldn't figure out a better way to do it. Oh well, maybe I'll fix it later. _

_Reviews keep me sane. Hahaha. No, really, they do! Well, at any rate, you can be sure that reviews (usually) make new chapters come out faster. Unless the next chapter isn't finished. Then it doesn't really matter. But you have no way of knowing if the third chapter is finished, do you? Hehehe. Better review, just to be safe! _

delly: _Not so much with people recognizing Ivy and Scott in Simi Valley. People there just assume it's a coincidence (silly Muggles!). But in upcoming chapters, there will be a few people in England who notice how much Ivy looks like, well, Ivy. I won't tell you who or any of the circumstances, just 'cause I'm mean like that. Hehehe. _


	3. Temptation

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Three

_Temptation_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I had trouble coming up with a chapter title for this because it's so short. Also, sorry about the delay. I hope to make up for both the shortness and the delay on Christmas (see end note). Also, the flight lengths are probably a bit off, because Ivy's plane originally stopped in Memphis, Tennessee. But I had to change it to Milwaukee, Wisconsin because of the next chapter, and I couldn't find any real flights online that had a connecting flight there. So forgive my laziness. _

_Okay, I'm seriously considering changing the rating to M (mature) for this story. Several later chapters I feel really don't fit into the T rating category because of character death (nothing that wasn't in book seven) and some steamy bits. I want to know what you all think, whether I should change the overall rating or just put warnings in the beginnings of the chapters. I'm leaning towards the individual warnings, because the automatic settings on only list stories that go as high as T. The only problem with that is one chapter event I don't want to warn you about, because you'll figure it out, and I want said event to be as unexpected as possible. Yeah, so let me know what you think! And I will tell you in advance if I decide to change the overall rating to M! _

_Did anyone go to the _Order of the Phoenix _premiere in London?! I'm having a lot of trouble with chapter six, when Ivy and Kailee go to the premiere. I really can't find many details about it, like how they decorated Leicester Square (I've only found pictures of celebrities and fans), what times celebrities arrived, when they screened the movie, stuff like that. I'd _really _appreciate any info anyone can give me! _

StarsInTheSky123: _Hehehe. Laziness is great, isn't it? Thanks for the review! _

Vixen Hood: _I've probably said it before (and I'm pretty sure I did), but I don't really like Justin either. I liked him when I first wrote him, but then...not so much. Not sure when that happened. Oh well. _

xXNightmareGoddessXx: _I have to plan things out that much so I know where the plot is ultimately going. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll get bored and not finish, which has happened many times before. Yay Burger King! But they're discontinuing my favorite chicken sandwich (the Italian Chicken) for the Firecracker Tendercrisp or Tendergrill (I forget which, probably Tendercrisp). Anyway, I'm not saying a word about the last part of your review. As my buddy Kaylin will tell you once I've finished this story, just because I won't say a word, doesn't mean you're right, or wrong. It just means I don't want to tell you. I don't promote spoilers, just heavy foreshadowing. Hehehe. _

* * *

Clover, Scott, and I stood near the security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport. Justin and I had agreed to remain friends, and he was not going back to Australia. Instead, he was going to stay with Scott in our parents house, both so he had a place to stay and so he could help keep an eye on Scott. He was at a job interview (for what job, he hadn't said) and couldn't come to see me off, but we had already said our goodbyes.

"You better take care of him," I told Clover as I hugged her. "If you don't, I'll hex you. I can't get in trouble for hexing a Muggle here, you know."

"You know I will, don't be stupid," she said with a laugh. Then she turned slightly serious. "You better get Daniel Radcliffe's autograph for me if you can."

I laughed. I had told her yesterday that I was going to the London premiere of the fifth movie, and she was very jealous. "You said you were going to the L.A. premiere, why don't you just get it then?"

"What if none of them give autographs in L.A., but they do in London?"

I shook my head. "You get me James and Oliver Phelps, then, okay? And J. K. Rowling, if she's there." I turned to Scott. "Be careful," I warned. "Just because you can do underage magic here doesn't mean you can show off to Muggles." He rolled his eyes. "And I expect you to keep up with school so you can go back to Hogwarts when all this is over."

"Yeah, yeah, I will."

I stared at him for a moment. I had no idea when I would see him again, or if I ever would. I hugged him tightly. He was already taller than me. When did that happen? "I love you, Scott," I whispered.

He patted my back awkwardly. We rarely had moments like this. "Please be careful, Ivy," he said.

"I will." I pulled away and picked up my carry-on bag that only held my spell books. My _Harry Potter_ books were back on my bookshelf at home.

"Oh yeah," said Clover suddenly, reaching into her purse. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "Give that to George."

I looked at it. She had indeed scribbled "George" across the front. I looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing about the books," she assured me. "Since I can't go with you, I just wanted to give him a warning that if he hurts you, I'll kill him."

I rolled my eyes. "I can take care of myself."

"I know, but it's my duty as your friend."

I laughed. "Whatever." I slipped the envelope into my bag. "I've got to get going," I said regretfully.

She nodded and hugged me again. "Be careful, Ivy."

I grinned at her and Scott as I pulled away. "Always," I said with a wink. "See you!" Then, before I could give in to the temptation to stay in America, I turned away and headed through security, hoping very much that I would see them both again.

* * *

The trip back to London was far less exciting than the one to Los Angeles. I was sitting in front of a woman with her six-month-old daughter who began fussing when the plane got high enough for the child's ear to pop, and didn't quit for three hours. I was amused for about half an hour by the fact that I was a victim of the over-used cliché of a crying baby on a too-long flight, until it began to get really annoying and I considered placing a Silencing Charm around my seat.

The plane landed in Milwaukee at a quarter to five their time, and I got on a connecting flight to London. This time I had to sit two seats to the right of a rather large businessman who fell asleep somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean and began snoring with enough volume that I was sure it was the reason a baby eight rows ahead began bawling soon after. I used the call button to summon a flight attendant and ask if she could do anything about the man, but she said she was sorry, that she couldn't do anything, and gave me a rather long speech about airline policy. I finally used a Silencing Charm on the man, and I made sure to remember to remove it when I noticed him waking as the plane began descending over the British Isles around nine o'clock.

Once I was off the plane, things went rather smoothly. I was through security and customs in a little less than an hour, with no trouble. Once I was outside the airport, I walked for a while until I found a deserted alleyway, where I Apparated to Aunt Becky's backyard. The yard was hidden from view by tall trees, providing a place for Apparition and condensed Quidditch matches that was safe from Muggle view.

I walked up to the back door, and before knocking, I gripped the doorknob and focused on the Potterverse. I watched as the last quarter moon overhead changed to a cute little crescent moon. It was a trick I had picked up a few weeks before when visiting Aunt Becky. Smiling to myself, I knocked on the door. There was silence, and I wondered for a moment if Aunt Becky wasn't home. I was about to knock again when I heard the door unlock and it swung open, revealing Lee, who looked slightly confused.

"Ivy!" he said, grinning. He stood aside to let me in, then closed the door and locked it again. "Mum went mad when she came home and saw you and Scott weren't here."

I winced inwardly. "Sorry. Is she really mad?"

He shrugged and made a little 'so-so' gesture with his hand. "She immediately went to the Order, and Lupin told her where you'd gone. I don't think she'll stop worrying until she sees you, but she's already gone to bed."

I nodded. Lee and Aunt Becky both knew about the Order of the Phoenix, and that I was in it. "I'll come back tomorrow morning on my way to see the twins, then," I said. "It's too late to see them now. I just wanted to let Aunt Becky know I was back and in one piece, since we forgot to leave a note for her."

"You got him there all right, then?"

"Yup," I nodded, shifting my bag slightly on my shoulder. "Nice and safe."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Like how I left the fact that Justin didn't tell her what job? Crazy, huh? I had ideas. It might not even mean anything, and it probably won't, but I wanted to keep it open, just in case I change my mind. _

_I've got Order of the Phoenix on DVD! YAY! Did everyone see Steve Vander Ark from the Harry Potter Lexicon on that one extra thing? I forget what it is, my friend took mine so he could watch it. I know it's in the bottom left corner of the main menu on disk two! I dunno why I'm so excited about this. Probably because I finally have a face to put to a name. _

_Sorry again about the shortness, but I hope this will make it up to you. As a Christmas present, I'll be putting up three to five chapters on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I won't be in Iowa with my grandparents this holiday and will have an internet connection, so it all depends on how much I'm able to finish by then. It will be at least three chapters, but no more than five. Three is more likely, because I have final exams on December 17th - 21st, and I need to start cramming pretty soon. And you might even only get two chapters if I can't figure out chapter six (see above) by then. All the more reason to help me out in a review, yeah? _

_So, unless my laptop's AC adapter decides to completely die on me (the connection is really bad and goes out whenever I move it) before I can get a new one, you'll hear from me again in about a week and a half. See you then, and Happy Holidays! _


	4. Good to be Back

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Four

_Good to be Back_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** FF dot net was being very stupid for me when I tried to upload chapter three. Kept saying there was a "processing error". Whatever. It worked just fine when I brought my flash drive downstairs to my mom's computer to upload it. You should all be glad my family has a multitude of computers (I think we've got about six total). _

_Hey, people who've had to work at a register in a store. Don't you hate it when customers pay with a large amount of small coins and they stand there for five minutes counting it out in front of you? And you want to strangle them because there's about a million people in line behind them, and their just taking their sweet time? Yeah, I hate that. It's one of my pet peeves. Another of my pet peeves is when in fan fiction, people describe the Weasley Twins as being really tall, and they're NOT, they're short and stocky, like Charlie. Sorry. That's my rant for the day. _

_Hey, is anyone else still confused by "REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA" (from book six) after reading book seven? It's probably the letter she got from Dumbledore after she asked to come to Hogwarts. Or the letter Dumbledore left with Harry. I dunno. I'm probably going to feel really stupid for not getting it before when I figure it out. _

delly: _It blew your mind? Hahaha! I don't know why that was so funny, but I'm still laughing so hard I've got tears in my eyes. Maybe I just wasn't expecting that particular phrase. Anyway, you really helped me! Lots of virtual hugs for you! And I think the people in Death Eater masks were actually fans. _

Vixen Hood: _HAHAHA! Ahem. Anyway, I haven't heard of the book, or the movie, _Twilight_. I'll have to look for it. _

VV: _So sorry for the long delay! I feel so bad about it! I'll be apologizing more at the end of chapter five. Yes, I think I have good reasons. (is shifty) _

wendystwin: _Chapter One: Trust me, Shannon's appearance is just a cameo. Kailee's a regular, so to speak, and far more important in the story. Chapter Two: Yes, you are. Why didn't you review chapter three? (sob) _

fork-spoon-fork: _Only thirteen? Thirteen reviews for three chapters is actually a personal best for me. I'm over the moon! Hehehe! _

DietCherryVanillaDrPepper: _Thanks for your review! _

* * *

The next morning, I had to go see Aunt Becky and go into the shop to see Fred and George and let them know that I was back. So I put on the magenta robes and Apparated to Aunt Becky's backyard. After visiting with her and assuring her that I was fine and Scott was fine, I Apparated to Charring Cross Road, directly in front of the Leaky Cauldron. No one seemed to pay me any mind; strangely dressed people probably appeared all the time in this area of Charring Cross. I pushed open the door and walked inside. 

"Morning, Tom," I said brightly to the old bartender.

He gave me a kind smile. "Mornin', Miss Wolfe. A butterbeer for you?"

I smiled slightly. Sometimes when I came through the pub on my way to work, I would buy a butterbeer to drink later. "Sorry, Tom, I've only got Muggle money with me, I've got to get it changed over. I'll stop on my way home."

"I'll hold you to that, miss."

After a brief stop in Gringotts to change my money over, I went straight to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which was packed. Verity had returned to work, and I saw her happily talking to a kid who was wearing a Headless Hat. Kailee was behind the counter, looking stressed nearly to the breaking point. Fred and George were arguing with an angry father. The man was clutching the hand of his small son, who was crying and had apparently turned purple for some reason. None of them noticed me come in.

Grinning, I walked around the counter to stand beside Kailee, who was counting out change for two girls. The remaining line was a good seven people long. "I think they should consider getting a second register," I commented.

Kailee nearly jumped out of her skin, scattering a few Knuts across the counter. "Ivy!" she gasped, clutching her heart. "Bloody hell, you nearly scared me to death!"

I laughed. "I do my best!"

"When did you get back?" she asked as she gathered the Knuts and continued counting.

"Last night. Want me to take the counter for a bit? You look like you need a break."

"Please," she said gratefully, handing the money to one of the girls, and they skipped off, chatting about their purchases. "I'll go tell Fred and George you're here."

I stopped her and lowered my voice. "I need to talk to you later in private about my trip," I said, giving her a significant look. "I learned some things that I think you ought to know."

She looked confused, but nodded and headed off. I turned to the next person in line and smiled brightly. "Hi there, find everything okay?"

It wasn't until nearly an hour later that Fred and George got a chance to talk to me.

"Hey guys," I said when they appeared on either side of me. "Fourteen Sickles, please," I said to the woman in line. She opened her purse and started counting out some Sickles and a large amount of Knuts. I tried to keep from sighing in annoyance and looked at George. "Sorry I left like that."

He grinned. "It's fine. So Scott's safe, then?"

I nodded. "Very safe." The woman was still counting. "Busy day," I observed. "What happened to that purple boy?"

"Tried to pocket a handful of Canary Creams," said Fred. "New anti-theft spell."

"Smart."

"Sorry about all this," the woman said sheepishly, pushing the pile of Knuts and Sickles toward me.

"It's fine," I said, opening the money drawer. I dropped the coins in, and a second later, the drawer shut on its own, showing that it was the exact amount. I handed her the bag of candy she had purchased. "Thanks for visiting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," I recited. "Please come again." She left, and I relaxed, glad that there wasn't anyone else in line at the moment.

"So, how was America?" Fred asked eagerly.

I smirked. "Is that the polite way of asking if I brought you anything?"

He looked slightly offended. "Of course not!" I raised an eyebrow, and he grinned. "Okay, maybe a little."

I laughed. "Yes, I brought presents." Their eyes lit up with excitement. "They're at my apartment. And I found something at the airport that your dad might like. It's a little model airplane."

George grinned. "He will like that."

"So what did you – " Fred began, but he was interrupted by Kailee's shout from the other side of the shop.

"NO, DON'T – !"

_BANG._

The commotion sent a number of customers running out of the shop. Fred and George ran around the counter, drawing their wands. I pulled mine out as well and followed, fearing the worst.

Someone had set off what looked like an entire Deflagration Deluxe box of Wildfire Whiz-bangs. Pink Catherine wheels, sparklers writing swear words, dragons of green and gold gave loud, fiery blasts, rockets of various colors flew around aimlessly, barely missing the heads of people who remained in the shop, knocking over displays –

"Stop them!" George shouted over the noise. He aimed his wand at a sparkler that was writing 'F-U-C', and it fell to the ground, lifeless.

Within seconds, Fred, George, Kailee, Verity, and I managed to get rid of all the fireworks. As the last Catherine wheel fell, I coughed, waving smoke created by the fireworks out of my face. With a wave of her wand, Kailee cleared the smoke away.

"Bloody hell," Fred growled, heading for the Pygmy Puffs that were happily rolling around on the floor, having somehow escaped from their cage during the chaos. George set to picking up the now useless fireworks. I shared a grin with Kailee before going to help Fred with the Pygmy Puffs, as they kept rolling away from him.

It was good to be back.

* * *

"So how was America?" George asked, scribbling something on the inventory sheet. The day was over, and I was helping George with inventory in the back room. Fred and Kailee were doing the same out front. Verity had gone home a few minutes before, having finished her task of end-of-day cleaning, which she really enjoyed for some reason. 

I shrugged. "All right, I suppose. A lot warmer than it's been here." He nodded and began counting the Decoy Detonators. I watched him for a moment, biting my lip nervously and wondering how best to bring up Justin. I decided to just say it. "Justin came back."

He dropped his quill and whipped around to face me, looking shocked. "What?"

"Justin came back," I repeated nervously. I added quickly, "But I told him I was with you, and I'm happy with you, so we agreed to just be friends. He's staying in Simi Valley with Scott at our parents' house."

He stared at me for a second, and then his face split into a broad grin. He pulled me close and kissed me. Relieved that it had gone much better than I'd expected, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back with fervor.

"OI!"

George and I broke apart and looked through the open curtain to where Fred was standing, watching us with a grin. "Stop snogging and get back to work!" Kailee, who was nearby, started laughing. George kissed my cheek and winked at Fred, before he turned back the Detonators, and I headed for the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

* * *

Fred and George came over to my apartment for a while to catch up and receive their presents (cheese hats I'd bought in Wisconsin) and the model airplane I'd gotten at the L.A. airport, which they promised to pass on to their father. They left some time around ten, discussing how to make a hat that turned the wearer's head into cheese. Kailee stayed a bit longer. 

"So what was it you wanted to tell me about California?" Kailee asked, as soon as I had closed the door behind the twins.

Nervously, I cast an Imperturbable Charm at the door, and then turned to Kailee. "Your clones are gone," I said.

"What?"

"You and your family's clones. They're gone. They don't exist. It's like they never existed."

Her mouth fell open slightly. "You're kidding."

I shook my head. "I'm dead serious. Clover doesn't remember you at all, no one does. I even looked at my old yearbooks, you're not in there, and neither is your sister."

"But – how – "

"I think it's because Dumbledore died. That's what happened to the Body-Bind he put on Harry when they were up in the Astronomy Tower that night. I don't know if all spells act like that – "

"Some are," Kailee nodded thoughtfully, "but not all. That one, I don't know. It might've had a time limit we didn't know about. Dumbledore would probably know for sure, but as he's not in a position to be asked..."

She trailed off, and I nodded, sitting on the couch. "It's not life-or-death important, really. At least I hope it isn't."

Kailee shrugged. "Mum and da'll probably know more than I do, I was too young to remember it." I nodded again. "Well, I'd better be getting back home. Mum'll worry. See you tomorrow?"

I smiled. "Yeah. See you."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** That was a strange ending. The whole thing seemed strange, actually. Oh well. I hoped you liked it anyway. Please review! _

_I found the best Irish slang on an Evanna Lynch fan site. _Gingernut_. Hehehe! My new favorite word! If you're not from Ireland (like me), it means "redheaded person". I don't know many redheads, though, so I don't get to use it a lot. Ooh, I could have Kailee use it, 'cause she's Irish. I just don't know if it's more of a insult or an endearing term. Anyone know? I wish I had more friends from the British Isles. Like, one. Anyone?_


	5. Making Dates

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Five

_Making Dates_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Oh dear, I think this is going to be another short one. Please don't hate me! I promise chapters six and seven are going to be much longer. Chapter eight is going to be yet another short one, unless I can think of something else to add to it. And I just did, and have hinted at it (blatantly told, really) near the end of this chapter. Hahaha. _

_On a somewhat-completely unrelated note, I now seriously believe J. K. Rowling secretly writes _Harry Potter _fan fiction. My reasoning? See the names of Harry's children. Also, the Snape-confronted-with-shampoo joke. And why is it that now every canon character in fan fiction is now saying "Merlin's pants", even if they've never said it before? WTF? It's Hermione's thing! Gosh! Sorry, I was long overdue for a good rant. _

_I got an iPod Nano for Christmas (SQUEE!) and I am absolutely pissed off that Scouting For Girls' "Elvis Ain't Dead" is only available from the UK iTunes store. OMG, it's such a good song, and I CAN'T HAVE IT!!! Why the heck are there two stores anyway? All I have is a twenty pence coin I found once and a bunch of Euros my friend brought me from Ireland! Darn you, England! Why do I have to have a lot of money and a passport to get there?!?! Sorry, but that REALLY pisses me off! _

_All my excuses for the long delay (which I feel very bad about) are down at the end of this chapter. Also, does anyone else think that David Letterman looked like Santa from _Miracle on 34th Street _after his show came back? _

* * *

The next three weeks passed quickly. I was making sporadic visits to the Rowling Dimension, trying to get my fill of the air of freedom that hung over the British Isles of 2007. Soon, I wouldn't be able to go there anymore, since book seven was coming out on the twenty-first of July. I was determined to go to the _Order of the Phoenix_ movie premiere on the third of July. The only problem I faced was how to disappear very early on that morning for an unknown amount of time.

After a lot of convincing of Kailee's parents, they allowed her to move into my apartment, so she wouldn't have to Apparate from Ireland everyday to get to the shop, where Fred and George had given her a more permanent job.

It was the first of July, and Kailee had gotten settled in my apartment just two days before. My bedroom, with the help of Mr. Weasley, had been made magically larger to accommodate a bed for Kailee. It was eight in the morning, and Fred and George would be expecting us in about an hour for our shifts. Kailee was sitting on the couch, already in her work robes, eating cold cereal and watching the Muggle morning news. I sat beside her with my own cereal, grinning. "Whatcha doin' on Thursday?" I asked her innocently.

She looked at me suspiciously. "Working, you know that."

"Whaddya think of skipping work and having a girls' day out?"

"I think Fred and George won't like it."

I sighed. "Oh, come on, we've never had a girls' day together, we deserve it."

She frowned at me. "You've got something up your sleeve," she accused.

"Do not. All I want to do is visit the Rowling Dimension and go to the _Order of the Phoenix_ movie premiere."

She sighed. "What's that, the sixth?"

"Fifth," I corrected, "and it's the one I'm in. I've got to see it!"

"We won't be able to get tickets only two days before."

I grinned. "You don't need tickets to stand in line and screech at celebrities."

She rolled her eyes. "Why are you so weird?"

"Hey, when it comes to _Harry Potter_ fandom, I am completely insane."

She shook her head, turning back to the television. "Just Thursday?"

"Well, Friday's the Fourth of July, so I'm asking for that off too." I grinned. "Aunt Becky'll probably let us use her backyard to set off fireworks. Or you can take me to Ireland."

She gave me an odd look. "We're in England."

"So? Doesn't mean I can't celebrate my own country's independence from the crazy eighteenth century British."

She sighed in defeat. "All right, we can ask them today."

An hour later, at nine o'clock, the shop was open and no customers had come in yet. Taking advantage of the empty store, I dragged Kailee over to the twins, who were standing by the door, looking out at the unusually deserted street.

"Can we have Thursday and Friday off?" I asked.

Fred frowned. "Why?"

"Kailee's parents want her to visit, and she invited me because I've never been to Ireland. Please?"

Fred and George shared a contemplative look. "Thursday shouldn't be too busy, but Friday..."

"...Would be busier, yeah," George agreed with a nod.

I bit my lip nervously and crossed my fingers in the pockets of my robes. If I was going to die in this war, I wanted to be able to say I'd gone to at least one _Harry Potter_ movie premiere.

"Verity'll probably come in," Fred was saying.

George nodded. "And Eric," he added, referring to the twenty-year-old they'd hired just two weeks before.

There was a pause, before Fred finally nodded. "All right," said George.

"Yay!" I said excitedly and flung my arms around George. "Thank you!" I kissed his cheek.

Fred laughed. "Would you like to show your appreciation as well, Kailee?" he asked slyly, holding out his arms for a hug.

Kailee rolled her eyes, but hugged him anyway. I noticed she blushed slightly, and I made a mental note to tease her about it later.

* * *

On Wednesday night, George walked with me back to my apartment.

"You know," he teased, "one might think you're trying to get away from me, with all these getaways you're taking."

I hit his shoulder. "You know that's not true, George. I love you."

Grinning, he kissed my cheek. "I know, I'm only teasing. I love you."

I smiled slightly. "We just want to have a girls' weekend, y'know? Before it gets really dangerous."

George pulled me closer with an arm around my waist, and I leaned into him. "Promise me something, love?" he whispered in my ear.

"Hmm?" I murmured.

"When you get back from Ireland, let me take you out to dinner. Just us, a date."

I looked at him, smiling. George and I hadn't been on an actual date yet, unless you counted a number of make-out sessions in my apartment. "I'd really like that, George."

"Great," he said, sounding almost relieved. "On Sunday night, when the shop's closed? When are you getting back on Friday?"

"No later than midnight?" I guessed. "Kailee and I haven't really gone over that yet." It was true. I had yet to decide on what to do on Friday yet. Probably a bit of sightseeing and some fireworks. "Where are we going to go?"

We finally reached my apartment building, and he followed me inside and up the stairs. "I know of a place outside of Gloucester. I've never been, but I know Dad's taken Mum a few times." He frowned. "I forget what it's called."

"Well, it sounds great," I said as we set foot on the third floor outside my door.

"Great," he said again, grinning. He kissed the end of my nose, and I giggled. "I love you, Ivy."

I sighed as his lips moved over my neck. "I love you." He kissed my lips, pressing me back into my door. "Careful, I don't think poor old Mrs. Lockley could handle seeing another one of our goodbyes," I said, referring to the old Muggle woman who lived in the apartment across from mine. A few days ago, she had come home from a late night of shopping to find George and I making out in the hall. She then gave us a rather grandmotherly talking-to.

"Yeah." He let his left hand settle on my waist while his other stroked my cheek. "I don't really want to listen to another lecture, either. Perhaps we should go inside?"

I giggled. "You come in, and I'll be up half the night." He resumed kissing my neck, and I let my fingers move though his hair. "We're – we're leaving early tomorrow."

"Do I really keep you up at night?" he whispered into my neck.

I blushed. "Sometimes." George laughed, then continued kissing my neck. "Really, George, I wanna be awake tomorrow. You can have me all day on Sunday."

He pulled back a bit and kissed my lips again. "That a promise, beautiful?"

My face, if possible, burned even more. "Of course."

He grinned. "I'll have to hold you to that." He kissed me again. "I'll miss you so much."

"It's only two days."

"Am I not allowed to miss you?" he asked.

I frowned at him. "You know, I think we've had this conversation before."

George looked at me for a moment, then laughed. "I think you're right. But I don't think we were in such a...compromising position last time." He gave me a rather wicked grin, which I returned.

"Well," I said, tracing a finger down his cheek, "I definitely like it better this time around."

"Mmm," he murmured, "so do I." He grinned at me again and kissed me gently. "So I'll see you on Saturday? And for dinner on Sunday?"

I blushed some more and nodded. "Yeah."

He chuckled lightly and kissed me once more. "I love you," he said quietly, resting his forehead against mine.

"Love you," I sighed. He stared into my eyes for a minute, and it suddenly struck me how lovely his eyes were, such a wonderful shade of dark blue...

He kissed my cheek, lingering for a moment before pulling away. He looked around quickly, and with a quick wink, turned on the spot and Disapparated with a rather loud _CRACK_. I sighed happily, but then winced when I saw Mrs. Lockley emerge from her apartment. She was dressed in her night things, and was leaning heavily on her cane, clutching a spray-can of mace.

"Are you all right, girl?" she asked when she spotted me. "I heard a gunshot."

I tried not to smile. "Are you sure? I thought it was a car backfiring."

She studied me for a moment, then gave me a tight smile. "You've been with that boy of yours again," she said, tossing the can of mace over her shoulder into her apartment.

I blushed slightly at the non-question. "Sorry, Mrs. Lockley, were we too loud?"

"No, girl, your neck." I stared at her, completely confused. "You got makeup to cover that mark?"

By this point, I was very annoyed with all the blushing I was doing that evening, and I did the worst of it as my hand flew up to cover the right side of my neck. "I – uh – yeah – inside, I do." I actually didn't have the sort of makeup you'd use to cover a hickey (I rarely wore makeup), but if Kailee didn't know a spell to at least hide it, she'd have the makeup.

"Don't be embarrassed, girl," said Mrs. Lockley. "I may be seventy-three, but I remember what it was like to be young and in love. My Herman, God rest his soul, was incredible in bed – "

"Okay!" I interrupted rather loudly, my face still very red. "I've got to get to bed, Mrs. Lockley, early morning tomorrow. Goodnight!" I quickly slipped into my apartment, leaving Mrs. Lockley laughing in the hall.

Kailee, who was sitting on the couch reading, looked up as I closed the door behind me. "Ooh, ha ha!" she laughed. "Did Mrs. Lockley catch you and George snogging in the hall again?"

I glared at her. "_No_, she heard George Disapparate, but I told her I thought it was a car backfiring. Then she began to regale me with tales of her rolls in the sack with her late husband Herman."

She stared at me for a split second, then broke into raucous laughter. "That – " she gasped " – that was – the funniest thing – I've ever heard you say!"

I grinned, coming over to sit with her on the couch. "It was the wittiest thing I remember saying. Anyway, I need your help."

"Yeah?" she asked, still giggling

"Know a spell to cover hickeys?" I asked, showing her the mark on my neck.

She laughed again. "Yeah, all right, come here. But pay attention, I'm not showing you again."

As Kailee set to work on my neck, I smiled slightly as I realized I was looking forward more to my date with George on Sunday than the premiere.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I AM SO SORRY! The days before Christmas were a lot more hectic than I'd anticipated, so then I figured I'd put four and five up on New Year's in honor of this trilogy's third anniversary (yay!), but then I still didn't get them done in time for that because I've been a bit obsessed with my new iPod Nano. And THEN, J. K. Rowling announced on the ITV2 documentary (I didn't see it, I heard about it on the HP Lexicon) that the Battle of Hogwarts took place on May 2nd. I had it set for May 29th, I think, so I had push my calendar back a month to make it work. I was just a bit annoyed, because I had to take something out that I didn't have enough time for. It annoyed me, but you'll all be rather happy about it. I'll explain it at the end. Anyway, I'm sure you're tired of this paragraph now, so I'll just move on and apologize one more time. Sorry. _

_Anyway, anyone want to help me come up with Potterwatch passwords? I've come up with a couple, but if someone wants to donate better ones, I'll give you credit. _

_I'm totally psyched about the Harry Potter theme park opening in Florida in 2009. Who's going to sell a body part to get there? Haha, just kidding. But really, who's going? It sounds SO awesome! I'm really pushing a family vacation. Dad's more excited than Mom, though. Keeping my fingers crossed! _

_About the next few chapters, they're really hard. Meaning, I won't have them for a few weeks at the least, especially since I went back to school today. Don't worry, though, it's not that I'm loosing interest! I'm just really wanting to write the stuff from the book. I'm sure some of you are probably looking forward to that to. But NO, Ivy is not following Harry and Co. around. I'm sure you don't want to read the seventh book in fan fiction form. Except the good parts. Like Molly totally kicking Bellatrix's ass! OMG, _the _best moment in all seven books! YAY! _

_Also, it's not just George that couldn't remember the name of the restaurant. I really can't think of anything. I was think about something with wand or wands in the name, but that's as far as I got. Any ideas would be great before chapter eight! Anything I use will be credited, of course. _

_I'm sure you're all tired of me now, so I'm going to go away now and get to work on the premiere chapter, which is next. Please review!_


	6. Leicester Square

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Six

_Leicester Square_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I had a bit of fun writing this chapter (when I wasn't writing the not-fun parts). I got to come up with some really crazy theories about Deathly Hallows. I didn't really have any theories (or if I did, I've forgotten them) pre-Book Seven, besides R.A.B equals Regulus Black, so I listened to a lot of PotterCast episodes and borrowed a few. The Dobby theory is mine, though, as well as theories relating to Ivy (duh). Theories that are true (or somewhat true) came from actual PotterCasts from before July 21st. Ivy-related theories could be true, but they could also not be true. Who knows? I just like to mess with your head._

_I read somewhere that they switched out fans so everyone got a chance to stand in front and get someone's autograph. However, we're going to pretend that this is a perfect world and there's room for everyone in front, because you get this chapter a lot faster if I don't have to think about that. However, if one of you has an idea you want to share, let me know, and I'll try to work it in as some point in the future, when I'm done with this story._

_Ooh, my buddy the Foreshadowing Gnome have been to visit this chapter, and went a bit crazy._

_All right, sorry everybody, but this story is going on hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time. I may not even finish it. I really need to start focusing on my school work, finding a new job, finding a new school to go to in the fall. Also, the new _Harry Potter_ fan fiction I'm working on, "All Too Much", is getting all my inspiration. Dunno when that'll be up. Anyway, I hope you don't hate me and you'll at least decide to see this chapter through to the end._

FailedWriter:_ I noticed you're from the UK! "Well gutted" tipped me off, and I went to your profile to see where you were from. Yeah, I think that's cool, and I'm extremely jealous. Minnesota has terrible weather (we just had a mini-snowstorm yesterday), and England's a whole lot warmer in the winter. Yeah. Anyway, thanks for the review! Also, at least JKR is planning on writing that Harry Potter encyclopedia._

Write in Raine:_ One of your all-time favorites? Wow, thanks!_

swear-on-the-moon:_ Thanks for the review!_

Vixen Hood:_ I am angry with the snow gods!_ _Hehehe. Seriously, though. Snow falling in April? How messed up is that?_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own things. You know the drill. Anyway, I wasn't at the London premiere of the Order of the Phoenix, nor have I ever met any of the people who did attend the premiere. I do know the weather was horrible. I'm also taking a bit of liberty with the set up outside the Odeon and a whole bunch of other stuff. So if you were there, just pretend Ivy had something to do with all the differences. Personalities of celebrities are completely fabricated from other people's accounts and from interviews I have seen. So please don't sue: I work at Burger King, I don't have much money. I heart you all. The brilliance of PotterCast is owned by the Leaky Cauldron._

* * *

On July 3rd, 2007, it rained. It sprinkled, poured, drizzled, stormed, and just about every other form of rain there is. Sometimes there were breaks when the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and the rain would let up for a few minutes. However, there were very few of these times, and everyone in Leicester Square for the _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ premiere kept their umbrellas close at hand all day.

Kailee and I left for the Square at five in the morning. Kailee complained quite a bit when I insisted on leaving so early, but my experience with _Harry Potter_ book and movie releases told me that if you want to be first in line, you've got to get there early. And always bring an umbrella.

We got to Leicester Square at five-ten (I had scouted out a well-hidden place to Apparate to the day before). I convinced Kailee to wear her school robes like I was, and we brought our brooms (Kailee with her Cleansweep 11 and me with my Starbolt) and our wands. We kept our wands well-hidden inside our robes with a couple of good spells, as we didn't want Muggles getting hold of them. I pinned my "rescue mission" badge to my chest opposite my Gryffindor House badge.

People were already beginning to line up at five in the morning. "This is incredible!" Kailee said, looking around in awe as we managed to find a spot at the barrier near the entrance to the Odeon theatre.

"This, my dear, is the craziness that ensues when _Harry Potter_ fans gather in one place." I grinned at her. "Great, isn't it?"

"It's only five in the morning!"

"_I_ was here since midnight," said a girl standing next to me. She had dark hair and blue eyes, and was wearing the Hogwarts uniform from the movie (the Muggle clothes weren't part of the real uniform), adorned with Slytherin memorabilia, complete with scarf.

"Wow, really?" I asked. "Great costume!" I added, looking over her Slytherin-emblazoned robes. "Very Slytherin."

"Thanks. Yours is great too. Fan of Ivy? That's a great accent."

"Real accent," I said with a grin, then held out a hand. "Sadie Williams, born and raised in Wyoming," I had picked out an aliases for Kailee and I last night. "This is Clover Maxwell," I added, gesturing at Kailee. "She's a Hufflepuff with a very bad memory for _Harry Potter_ canon."

Kailee shoved me aside suddenly. "I can introduce meself, you prat." I giggled. "Good to meet you," she said, shaking the girl's hand.

"Likewise," she said with a smile. "Ellie Banks. I suppose I could _try_ to get along with a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff for one day."

Kailee looked shocked, but I heard the laughter in Ellie's voice. "You're not a Death Eater, are you?" I asked.

"Nah," she said. "I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Muggles."

We giggled. "I'll bet you're of the view that Snape's good," I said.

"Oh yes. You?"

"He's an evil, Dumbledore-killing bastard that can't keep an eleven-year-old on a broom. But, y'know, I like to keep an open mind. Everything's going to work out for the best in the end."

"That's the way it works."

"Yup."

Ellie smiled at Kailee. "What do you think about Snape?"

Kailee still looked a bit gobsmacked. "I – uh – he's on You-Know-Who's side?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you haven't made a real decision yet."

Kailee was indignant. "I just don't see how anyone could even contemplate him being _not_ on You-Know-Who's side! _He killed Dumbledore!_"

I poked her arm. "Calm down, Clover, there's two sides to every story."

She looked at me incredulously. "Whaddya mean, 'two sides'?"

I sighed and glanced at Ellie. "She's very convinced she's right."

"Hufflepuffs. Best change the subject?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Kailee didn't say anymore about Snape, but I heard her mutter 'Slytherins...'

"So do either of you read the books?" Ellie asked, sitting on the pavement.

"We both have, but I've certainly got the best memory for canon." I sat beside her, and Kailee hesitated for a moment before joining me.

"Looking forward to _Deathly Hallows_, I bet. Any theories?"

I smirked. "In a perfect world, everyone will live and Voldemort will be taken out by Dobby driving the Knight Bus."

Both Ellie and Kailee laughed. "That would be brilliant!" Ellie giggled.

"Best book ever, man," I said whimsically. "Jo'd follow Dobby around Europe, having crazy adventures and romances with Winky."

"What would the Deathly Hallows be, then?"

"Gas for the Knight Bus."

Ellie continued laughing. "Oh, wow. Okay, I've got to go to the loo. Mind holding my spot?"

"Sure."

"Thanks!" She walked off, still chuckling. I slid over into her seat and swung my legs around to mark the place where I had been sitting. Kailee hit me.

"Ow!" I whined. "What the hell?"

"You don't have an 'open mind' about Snape! You hate Snape more than anyone I know!"

I lowered my voice. "Would you relax?! I'm trying to keep an open mind for people who don't know Snape and Dumbledore actually exist! It's just books to them, remember? And just for this weekend, it's books to us, too. Try to have fun with it and come up with a few insane theories!"

"You're kidding, right? I heard something about Harry being a Horcrux. What's a Horcrux?"

I flushed slightly. "Nothing you need to know about," I said evasively, and decided to quickly change the subject when Kailee looked even more curious. "Anyway, I think you should say Voldemort's name while we're here."

"Why?" she asked incredulously, seemingly forgetting about the subject of horcruxes.

I spotted Ellie heading our way. "I know you're dressed as Kailee, but you won't find a single person in this entire square who doesn't believe 'fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself'."

Kailee gaped at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, then saw Ellie as I scooted back over into my own spot. "Oh! Right, book...three?"

I laughed. "Honestly, Clover, your memory! Dumbledore said it in, like, the last chapter of book one!"

For a moment she seemed to be thinking back to her second year, and then her face lit up with obviously fake realization. "Oh, right, of course."

I mentally rolled my eyes. "Terrible memory for this stuff, like I said," I told Ellie as she sat down. Kailee glared at me.

The next ten hours passed slowly. We spent most of the time chatting and sharing theories, and around noon, Ellie offered to go for food at a nearby deli. At three, Ellie suggested 'the Dueling Game'.

"How do you play?" I asked.

"It's a game PotterCast has been doing at their live shows this summer," Ellie explained. "I guess you don't listen to it?"

"Never heard of it," I said honestly. I'd stopped following internet news after I finished at Hogwarts.

"It's a podcast the Leaky Cauldron does, you _have_ heard of them, haven't you?"

Kailee frowned slightly, but I smirked, knowing she was talking about the website. "Well, duh, best place to get _Harry Potter_ news, isn't it? I've just been out of touch with the _Potter_ fandom since I came to England. My aunt doesn't have internet access." I changed the subject quickly. "'PotterCast', though, catchy name. So how do we play this dueling game?"

She paused, thinking, trying to decide how best to explain it. "Well, on PotterCast, they usually play with two people, but I suppose we could do three. You pick a category, like spells or Order members or Hogwarts students, and then you go back and forth trying to name everything you can from that category."

"Sounds easy enough," I said, looking at Kailee.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll give it a go."

So we played. I thought Kailee and I might have a slight advantage over Ellie, but that wasn't the case. When we did the spell category, Kailee and I both kept mentioning incantations for spells that had only been mentioned by title (like the Bat-Bogey Hex), or spells that hadn't been mentioned at all. I beat both Kailee and Ellie at the Order member category. By four-thirty, we were still playing the game, and having quite a bit of fun with it, despite the rain that was still coming down.

"Ha!" I exclaimed when Ellie suggested Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products. "Ton Tongue Toffee!"

Ellie giggled. "Uh...Fever Fudge."

"Headless Hats!" Kailee said, laughing. She had scared me numerous times by jumping out at me wearing one of those.

"Decoy Detonators," I continued.

Ellie hesitated. "Oh, Canary Creams!"

"Shield Cloaks," said Kailee.

"Edible Dark Marks."

"Extendible Ears."

"Make-Out Mistletoe."

Ellie began laughing uncontrollably, and my face went very red. Kailee looked confused. "Sorry!" Ellie gasped. "I still think it's funny that George got caught under that with Ivy!"

"What's so funny about that?" Kailee asked.

"They weren't dating then," I said, trying to control my blush. I still could not remember that kiss. "Christmas in book six. It was still in the testing phase." Kailee joined Ellie in laughing. "Fainting Fancy!" I said loudly, trying to get them to stop.

Kailee rolled her eyes. "Reusable Hangman," said Ellie, still giggling a bit.

"U-No-Poo," Kailee said.

Ellie and I both laughed. "Forgery Quills," I said.

Ellie looked at me like I was crazy. "What?"

I suddenly realized my mistake and cringed. "Fan fiction again, sorry. Uh, Daydream Charms."

"Portable Swamp," Ellie said, still looking at me funny.

"Shield Hats," Kailee said.

"Shield Cloaks."

"Shield – "

Ellie's turn was interrupted by an outbreak of screaming from the entrance to the square. We scrambled to our feet and leaned over the barrier. We couldn't see the entrance, but it was clear someone had arrived.

"Who is it?" I whined, bouncing slightly. I strained to hear a name, actor or character, through all the shrieking, but to no avail. I was hoping for James and Oliver Phelps, who were at the top of my Must Get Autograph list. Tied with J. K. Rowling, really, but I had no idea if she was going to be there.

Ellie giggled excitedly. "I don't know, I hope it's Tom Felton!"

I turned up my nose. "_Draco_? Wow, you really are a Slytherin. James and Oliver are so better-looking."

"That's so Gryffindor. Weasleys, I ask you – "

"Hagrid!" I exclaimed, pointing.

"_Hagrid_?" Kailee and Ellie repeated at the same time, shocked.

I rolled my eyes. "No, look, it's what's-his-name!" I said, pointing at the man whose name I couldn't remember.

"Robbie Coltrane," Ellie offered.

I nodded. "Yes, thank you!"

The next fifteen minutes passed quickly, with various celebrities arriving at somewhat regular intervals. There was David Tennant (who played Barty Crouch, Jr. in the _Goblet of Fire_ film), Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), a singer I didn't know named Lily Allen, who Ellie got awfully excited about. There was also David Yates, who directed _Order of the Phoenix_, and Tiana Benjamin, who played Angelina. Then, the two people I'd been looking forward to seeing most showed up.

James and Oliver Phelps.

I nearly dropped my notebook (it had stopped raining for the moment), then gave a sort of gasping scream, pointing at them. Ellie looked at me like I was crazy, and Kailee cried out in pain, as I had screamed in her ear.

"What the bloody hell is your – "

"JAMES AND OLIVER!" I shrieked, abandoning all pretense and starting to jump up and down.

"Where?!" Ellie demanded, leaning over the barrier.

I couldn't tell them apart from that distance, but one of them wore a dark grey suit with a peach-colored shirt and tie, and the other wore a pinstripe black suit with a white shirt and red tie. "Ooh, aren't they hot?"

"Sadie, you have a boyfriend!" Kailee scolded.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't look at guys I have no chance with. Very hot guys," I added.

"Tom Felton's fitter," Ellie said.

"Psh! James and Oliver!" I said pointedly, gesturing at the twins.

She rolled her eyes. "I bet you've spent hours learning to tell them apart."

"As a matter of fact, I have. They're too far away now, though, they need to be closer!"

"Why isn't their hair red?" Kailee asked curiously. I had told her all about the Phelps twins, but I must have left out their hair.

"They dye it for the movies," I explained, still staring at James and Oliver. They had already been converged upon by a reporter and a cameraman. "I want them over here!" Ellie snickered, and I gave her a mock-glare. "I am SO teasing you when Tom Felton gets here."

"Go right ahead."

Next came Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia), followed shortly by Emma Watson, then Matthew Lewis, who I almost didn't recognize.

"Who's that?" I asked.

Ellie gave me a funny look. "That's Matthew Lewis. You know, Neville?"

I laughed. "Oh my God, really? _Damn_, he got hot!"

Ellie giggled. "I think for the movies he wears false teeth and wax behind his ears to make them stick out."

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing at the girl on his arm. "Girlfriend?"

Ellie frowned. "I don't know. Maybe."

I looked back at James and Oliver, who had finally moved away from the reporter and were moving down the line of fans opposite us, chatting and signing autographs. I grinned, clutching my notebook tighter. I had gotten Robbie Coltrane's autograph, but no one else had come by signing things. Emma Watson was moving down towards us signing things, but I was more looking forward to getting James and Oliver's autographs.

"Oh, there's Daniel and Rupert!" Ellie exclaimed.

Kailee actually looked interested. "He's not bad-looking."

"Harry?" She looked at me and nodded. I frowned at her. "Please, he's got caterpillar eyebrows, reminds me of Krum." Ellie completely broke down laughing, and Kailee gave me a rather offended look that told me she thought very highly of Viktor Krum.

Ten minutes later the sky had opened up again and it was pouring rain again. James and Oliver had moved around to our side of the square, and I could finally tell them apart properly. James was wearing the grey suit, and Oliver wore the black. Emma had come and gone, and had been rounded up with Daniel and Rupert for a number of pictures. Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood, had also shown up. Ellie said she was supposed to be a big fan of the books.

James and Oliver were drawing closer, each of them covered with an umbrella held by someone else, and I was bouncing slightly in excitement. "Stop bouncing, I'm getting wet!" Kailee said, moving closer to me under the umbrella we were sharing. Ellie had her own. I stopped and took to biting my lip. "I didn't realize you were this – "

"Obsessed?" I supplied. "Of course."

"Duh," Ellie added. She was grinning just as much as I was, though she was far less interested in the Phelps Twins than I was.

Oliver reached us first. He took my notebook, grinning at me. "Is Ivy your favorite character?" he asked, nodding at my robes, where my "rescue mission" badge was clearly displayed.

I was still grinning. "Actually, Fred and George are, but I am a lot like Ivy."

He looked slightly surprised. "American too?"

I laughed. "Born and raised," I said proudly.

He smirked, then called to his brother. "Hey, James, look, it's Ivy Wolfe." James finished off an autograph for a boy on the other side of Ellie and joined his brother's side. "And she's American."

"Really?" James asked curiously, as Oliver passed my notebook to him before taking a copy of _Order of the Phoenix_ the boy on the other side of Kailee shoved at him.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That's cool." James grinned at me, then at Kailee. His eyes lingered a bit on Kailee before he handed back my notebook. "Enjoy the movie."

I nodded rather stupidly as he followed Oliver. "God," I said breathlessly.

Kailee rolled her eyes. "You're a freak."

"Me?" I giggled. "I'm not the one James was checking out."

Her face flushed instantly, and she glanced over at James, who had moved out of earshot. "What? No – no he wasn't!"

"Actually, I think he was," Ellie said, smirking.

"Ah, well," I sighed, "Too bad she's got a crush on my boyfriend's brother." Now Kailee's face went bright red, and she hit me. Hard. "OW!" I gasped, grabbing my arm.

"I DO NOT!"

Ellie was laughing. "I've never even seen Sadie's boyfriend or his brother, and it's totally obvious." Kailee glared at both of us before turning away.

I sighed happily and opened my notebook to the page James and Oliver had signed. "That was the best moment of my life!"

Ellie suddenly gasped, and I looked up at her in confusion. She was looking toward the entrance to the square. "I know what's going to top it!" I turned around.

J. K. Rowling.

And her husband, Neil Murray.

But, more importantly, _J. K. Rowling_!

"OH MY GOD!" I shouted shamelessly. Kailee jumped and gave me yet another 'you're-crazy' look. "It's her!" I pointed.

"Who – ?" Kailee began, but I interrupted her.

"J. K. Rowling!" I exclaimed. "The greatest author ever in the history of everything!"

Kailee actually looked a little frightened. "Okay...?" she said slowly.

"She is!" Ellie said. "Did you know she was an unemployed single mother when she started writing _Harry Potter_?"

"Ohmigod, I know!" I said excitedly. "If only I'd remembered to bring one of my books!"

"I can't believe you forgot!"

"I know, I feel so – "

"TOM FELTON!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at Ellie's unexpected scream. I turned and spotted Tom Felton entering the square. The screaming from that direction seemed to increase tenfold, apparently because of Tom's arrival. While Ellie was distracted, Kailee leaned toward me.

"How are you going to explain to George why you have a notebook filled with people's autographs?" she asked quietly, though loud enough to be heard over the screaming.

"When we get to your parents', I'll mail it to Clover," I said quickly.

Ellie turned back to us, her face slightly flushed. I saw that Tom had already set to signing things. Rowling had already been snatched up by a reporter. "Imelda Staunton is here," Ellie said, pointing. "Have you seen that clip from the movie? She's really good as Umbridge."

"I haven't," I said, leaning out. She was a short woman with brown hair. "Hmm. She should be toadier." Kailee snorted with laughter.

"Hey, there's Voldemort," Ellie said gesturing toward Ralph Fiennes.

Kailee jumped, and I elbowed her. "Looks a lot different without the Voldemort stuff."

The next twenty minutes seemed to pass extremely slowly, as I waited for Rowling to finish with the reporter, and Ellie waited anxiously for Tom Felton to reach us. He got to us in about ten minutes, and Ellie stammered through a quick 'hello' and a 'thank you' for signing her book, before he moved on. I was teasing her about Tom Felton when Rowling finally got away from reporters and having pictures taken. It took another ten minutes for her to reach us.

After briefly signing Ellie's copy of _Order of the Phoenix_, I held out my notebook excitedly. "Hi!" I said, laughing a bit in my excitement. My face was starting to hurt from grinning so much.

Jo smiled at me. "Hello," she said, taking my notebook. Then she did a strange sort of double-take, and her expression turned to shock. I wondered if I looked just like Ivy did in her head, then decided that was stupid, of course I did, because I was Ivy. "My goodness," she breathed, "you look just like – "

"Ivy Wolfe?" I asked, unable to stop grinning. "I – I know, I get that a lot. I'm – I'm Sadie," I said, hardly able to believe I was having an actual conversation with J. K. Rowling.

"But that's incredible, you're American too?"

"Yes," I said, nodding. "Wyoming. I'm just here for the summer." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie looking rather envious, but I ignored her. "I love your books, they're absolutely incredible. Fred and George are definitely my favorite characters! Ivy too, I suppose."

For a very brief moment, there was a flicker of what looked like guilt in her eyes, but just as quickly, it was gone. "Thank you. I do hope you enjoy _Deathly Hallows_." I bit my lip as she looked down at my notebook and began scribbling. A tiny part of me wanted to ask who would die, even though I really didn't want to know, and I knew she wouldn't tell me.

"I'm sure I will." I said quickly. "Can't wait to read it."

"There you are," she said finally, handing me my notebook. "Hope you enjoy England."

"Thank you," I said, and she moved on. I read what she'd written. _Sadie – Keep reading! J. K. Rowling_.

"Let me see yours," said Ellie, turning it so she could see. "Lucky! She only wrote her name in my book!"

I laughed giddily, though wishing I could keep it with me in England. It had stopped raining yet again, so I put down my umbrella.

"Oh, my!" Ellie said as she did the same, looking around. "I didn't see them arrive!"

"Who?" I asked, looking around for someone I knew.

"Sydney White and Louis Richmond."

"Who?" I asked again, looking at her.

Ellie sighed, then pointed. "Ivy and Scott!"

A reporter, who I remembered as being the same one who interviewed James and Oliver, was now talking to a tall girl with bleached blonde hair and a boy with black hair. "_Blonde_ hair?!" I exclaimed, feeling a bit annoyed. I looked up at the picture on the right side of the Odeon, and was glad to see that the Ivy standing between Ginny and Neville had red hair (though the color was a bit off). Kailee was giggling at me, and I glared at her. Sydney and Louis were facing away from us, so looked down at the poster hanging on the barrier, which showed the D.A. members who went to the Ministry. Just for the hell of it, I imagined the Ivy in the back of the picture, standing between Neville and Luna, with blonde hair.

I had a sudden shock of realization, and I looked back up at the girl being interviewed. She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she glanced behind her, and I caught a glimpse of her face. I gasped, and the notebook slipped from my fingers. Ellie and Kailee both looked at me. When I didn't pick up the notebook, Ellie stooped to get it, and Kailee touched my arm.

"Iv– Sadie, what is it?" she asked worriedly.

I opened my mouth stupidly, then closed it again. "I – Sydney White was two years behind me in school."

Kailee looked surprised. "What?"

"A year behind you! She – she was in all four plays her freshman year! She might recognize me! That would be BAD!"

"Uh..." Ellie was confused. "I thought you were from Wyoming? She's from Los Angeles."

"About an hour from L. A., actually. Simi Valley, just west of the San Fernando Valley."

"Why is this so bad?!" Kailee exclaimed.

"How many people here know my real name, _Clover_?" I asked pointedly. I shoved my umbrella and my Starbolt into her arms. "Hold these, I'll be right back."

"Wait, where are you going?" she called after me as I ran off.

"Bathroom!"

I returned about ten minutes later with bright purple hair. Ellie and Kailee both gaped at it in shock.

"Blimey, you can't've been gone more than ten minutes!" Ellie exclaimed. "How did you do that so fast?"

"Magic," I said easily. Ellie looked skeptical.

"Why purple?" Kailee asked.

"This is how I passed my Charms exam."

"Your _Charms_ exam?!" Ellie repeated incredulously. "Are you mad?"

I sighed, turning to face her. "Look, if you ignore everything that just happened, I'll explain everything to you later."

Kailee's eyes widened. "Is – is that a good idea?" she asked worriedly.

"Later, Clover," I said shortly.

Ellie and Kailee dropped the matter for the time being, though they both kept glancing at me, Ellie curiously and Kailee worriedly. The rest of the night seemed to fly by. I got a few more autographs, including Devon Murray (Seamus), Alfred Enoch (Dean), Bonnie Wright (Ginny), and David Thewlis (Remus). There was also Natalie Tena, who played Tonks, who thought I was a fan of hers because my hair was purple.

I seemed to get off easy with Louis and Sydney. Louis didn't know who I was, and Sydney, mercifully, didn't recognize me. I did my best to fake a British accent for her (just in case she happened to recognize my voice), and she seemed to buy it, though Kailee stifled a laugh and Ellie looked disgusted with my attempt. The woman holding Sydney's umbrella (it had been pouring rain again) did give me a strange look, but I think she was looking at my hair.

At ten to eight, the celebrities and their guests began making their way into the Odeon. Once J. K. Rowling and James and Oliver Phelps had disappeared from my view, I said, "Let's go." I added to Ellie, "If you come with us, we can explain." After double-checking that we had all out things, Ellie, Kailee, and I left Leicester Square.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked as I led her and Kailee down Saint Martin's Street and into a deserted alleyway.

"Well, once I tell you this, you're not going to believe me, and I'll have to do a little demonstration, so – "

"Ivy, no," Kailee interrupted, "that is _really_ not a good – "

I sighed. "Neither of us have the Trace anymore," I reminded her, "and even if we did, the Ministry can't monitor it here."

Ellie was gaping at both of us. "Did you just call her Ivy?" she asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm Ivy Wolfe."

She stared at me, her mouth hanging open slightly. "You're right. I don't believe you."

I smirked. "Well, it's true. I'm a witch, and so is Kailee Hunter, over here," I said, gesturing at Kailee.

"No, this is impossible," Ellie insisted, looking back and forth between Kailee and I.

I put my Starbolt down on the ground beside me. "Evidence to the contrary," I said shortly. I then stuck my right hand out over my broom and said, "Up!"

Ellie actually jumped, startled, as my broom leapt obediently into my hand. She gaped at the broom for a moment, then shook her head. "You could have done that with strings, or wires – "

Kailee snickered, and I frowned at her. "Sorry," she said. "Muggles always try to rationalize magic." I nodded in agreement, smiling a little, and then she added, "Try changing your hair back to normal."

"Good idea," I agreed, reaching into my pocket for my hidden wand. Ellie stared at it, frowning, as I pulled it out. I tapped my hair, and when Ellie gasped, I knew I'd done something. I pulled my ponytail around to look at it, and was relieved to see it was the right color. "Good. I changed it back too light for my exam and had to have Alicia fix it later."

"Bloody hell," Ellie breathed. "I – bloody _hell_!"

"You can't tell anyone," Kailee told her abruptly.

Ellie laughed disbelievingly, putting a hand to her forehead as though feeling for a temperature. "Who'd believe me?" she wondered aloud. "Does she know? J. K. Rowling, I mean?"

I shook my head, slipping my wand back into my pocket. "I don't think so. She might've suspected, though. She was pretty surprised that I looked so much like, well, me."

"But – but you know. And – and you're a fan."

I nodded. "My Aunt Becky – Lee Jordan's mother – her house is a portal between the dimensions. When Scott and I came here after our parents died, I noticed that Lee was the Lee Jordan, from the books. Then we got our letters from Hogwarts."

Ellie looked like she was brimming with questions. "Why did Dumbledore let you go? I – I can understand that Scott would have time to get caught up, but you – "

"I wish I could tell you," I admitted. "Bit late to ask him now, but I'm sure he had a reason. Scott's not going back to Hogwarts this year, because it's not safe. He's in California, studying from Lee's books."

"Are you going to read the last book?"

"No. I'm not coming back here again after it's released. I'll come back to see the movie, but that'll be it." I sighed. "Wish I could go to a release party, but it's too risky. I don't want to know who dies."

"This is incredible," Ellie said.

"You've got to promise not to tell anyone," Kailee said.

"Not even J. K. Rowling?" Ellie asked. "I think she's got a fair right to know, don't you?"

I shrugged. "I doubt she'd believe you. She'll probably think you're just a crazy fan or something. So do we have a deal?" I asked, holding out my hand for her to shake.

She hesitated, but finally, she nodded, then shook both our hands. "Agreed."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I hope you stuck it out to the end, because, APRIL FOOLS! Hahaha. I hope I fooled some people. The prank I tried to pull on Kaylin totally failed, so I hope I would get a bit of success with this. Rest assured, chapter seven will be up no later than May 2nd. So, Happy April Fools' Day, in the spirit of the Weasley Twins!_

_Anyway, sorry it took so long. Should I even bother to explain? I was pretty sick of this chapter by the time I finished it, so I'm sure the overall quality isn't that great. Please ignore the terrible scene transitions, I know they're bad. I'll go back and work on them at some point in the future, but I just wanted to get this chapter up and move on, as I'm sure you were just as tired of waiting for it as I was of writing it._

_I did a lot of debating about the plot of this chapter, even after I decided not to be entirely accurate about the London premiere. I nearly had Ellie threaten to tell people about the two dimensions, and then for some reason Kailee would Apparate both Ellie and Ivy to her parents' house in Ireland. That's as far as I got before I decided it was stupid. I almost decided to have Ivy not recognize Sydney, but then I had no other idea about how Kailee and Ivy would accidentally give themselves away to Ellie. So yeah._

_Is anyone else having problems uploading things? It's really starting to piss me off. It keeps deleting things and messing with my formatting. Any help would be great._

_Please review!_


	7. People That Come and Go

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Seven

_People That Come and Go_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I almost used Bungy the Budgie, but I had to take it out! Darn it! At some point before I finish this story, I will mention Bungy! _

_Lucy is a character from another _Harry Potter _fic that I'm working on sporadically. I won't say much in case nothing comes of it, but the Lucy in this chapter is basically her, with a few minor tweaks to fit this story. _

_To explain how Kailee and Ivy know how to navigate Liverpool so easily, uh...magic. Yeah. I was getting really lazy with this chapter. There are a couple bad transitions and one really terrible transition. It's one of those things I'll try to care about later. There's forty-something chapters to get through, remember? And if you're curious, the soccer (football!) game on TV in the pub is the August 23, 1989 game. Yes, I looked it up. And big hugs if by the end of the chapter you can tell me how it was foreshadowing! (The date has nothing to do with it.) _

_If you're really interested in why it took me so long to update, go read the little notes at the top of my bio on my author's page. But I am back to school now (I was typing this together in my dorm room at MSU Moorhead, actually!), so expect delays, blah, blah, blah. I think my regular readers have come to expect long waits between updates. _

_I also have no idea what appletinis taste like, as I haven't had alcohol since I was seven (yes, seven). Sorry, but I'm not going to risk a hangover just for story accuracy. If I am wrong, and you want to correct me, go right ahead. _

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Coke products, blah, blah, blah. The butterbeer recipe is actually my cream of root beer soup recipe. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen a certain episode of the Monkees. Which I don't own. Also, certain people mentioned in this chapter are their own. You'll know who I'm talking about when you get to it. And I don't own the Beatles. _

super jumper: _Thank you! _

maruder no. five: _Thanks for your review! _

Cyanica: _Really? That's awesome, thank you! I like your name, by the way. It's very pretty. _

delly: _Was almost five months too long? Hehehe. I'm terrible. _

Finalfan9999: _It seems like every other OC-centered fic I read has something to do with an American. _

wendystwin: _(Chapter 3) You know, the Gred and Forge part is right before the Fred foreshadowing. That's what that makes me think of now. Isn't that sad? (Chapter 4) Ya toss pot! Hahaha. (Chapter 5) Silly Kaylin! (Chapter 6) Which stuck up snobs are you talking about? In high school or college? _

P.R.M.A.S.: _I do feel your pain. I love storms. My perfect day includes a thunderstorm. I'm in Moorhead for school, and the winter here is probably going to be worse than it is in the cities. Not looking forward to that. _

FailedWriter: _James and Oliver are quite yummy, aren't they? _

Write in Raine: _Aw, you make me blush. Hehehe. _

_I think a couple people reviewed on Parts I and II, but I'm too lazy at the moment to go look. Thank you __to those people for your reviews, though!_

* * *

After about a dozen more questions and a few more magic demonstrations, Ellie departed for the Leicester Square tube station. Kailee and I retreated farther into the alleyway before Kailee took me by Side-Along Apparition to Ireland.

The Hunters' "farm" (though it was on farmland, Kailee's family hadn't used it as such for around twenty years, and was now covered with oak and cedar trees) was located on the outskirts of Ballyvoy, very near Ireland's northeast coast. The barn was large and stone-walled, and to my surprise, contained two black winged horses, and a ghoul in the loft. There was a small garden between the barn and the house, which was a typical two-story farmhouse.

Kailee's parents, Layla and Edwick Hunter, were just as I'd remembered them in America, other than being Irish. Both worked at the Ministry, her father on the Floo Regulation Panel, and her mother in the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her older sister, Skie, a Healer at St. Mungo's, lived in Coventry.

I slept in Skie's old room, and we spent the next day setting off fireworks in the yard. We had a short conversation at dinner about the Hunter family clones. The reason it was short was because Kailee's parents didn't know much more about the spell that created the clones than I did. It was old magic (though probably not as old as the love magic that had protected Harry from the Killing Curse), and the only person that had known any more about it was Dumbledore.

As we were about to leave around ten-thirty, I managed to talk Kailee into stopping in Liverpool on our way back to London. I'd never been, and since the Beatles _were_ one of the most successful groups in the world, why not? So we Apparated to Sefton Park in Liverpool, appearing amongst some trees. We had returned to the Rowling Dimension (as Kailee's parents' house existed only in the Potterverse) to avoid being seen Apparating by Muggles and causing the Ministry to come after us.

"So where do you want to go?" Kailee asked as we left the park. "Nothing's going to be open this late."

"I just want to see Penny Lane, really," I said. "The Cavern – where the Beatles used to play in the early sixties – that might be open. But I don't know where it is, though."

So we went to Penny Lane. The Cavern wasn't there, but we found a little pub on a side street. It was dark and drab, but there was a very nice plasma television on one wall. It was showing a soccer game between Liverpool and Aston Villa, but it looked like it was from the eighties or early nineties, and I only spotted one person watching it. We sat down at a little two-person table, and a waitress showed up almost right away.

"Evening!" It was a woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, holding a small notepad. Her nametag said 'Lucy'. "What can I get for you?" I tried not to giggle. She was Liverpudlian, all right. She sounded just like a female version of John Lennon.

"Guinness for me, please," Kailee said.

I looked at her in surprise. I never expected Kailee, Irish or not, to ask for alcohol. "_You_ drink?" I asked.

She looked at me strangely. "Yeah, isn't that what we're here for?"

"Well, your – " I caught myself quickly, glancing at Lucy, who was watching us curiously, " – you're not twenty-one," I finished lamely.

Kailee continued looking at me funny. "It's eighteen in England, Ivy, I thought you knew that?" I had known that. She looked at Lucy. "I expect you'll want to see me I.D.?"

"Please," she nodded. Kailee began digging through her bottomless purse for her wallet. It was really weird. In California, Kailee's clone never drank.

"Do you have soda?" I asked Lucy.

She nodded. "Yeah, Coke products."

"Sprite, please."

She scribbled it down on her notepad. "Are you American?"

I nodded. Kailee finally pulled out her I.D. and showed it to Lucy, who nodded after examining it. "Guinness and a Sprite, then, that it for you?" We nodded. "I'll be right back with your drinks."

She left, and I looked at Kailee. "Your _sister_ never drank, she hated it."

She looked at me in confusion for a second, and then her eyes lit with understanding. "Really?" I nodded. She shrugged.

Lucy returned with our drinks, and gave us a brief smile before going to help a woman who had just arrived. Kailee sipped her beer. "It's still weird."

We spent the next half hour or so sipping our drinks and chatting about random things.

"I'm goin' to the loo," Kailee said eventually, standing up. "I'll be right back." I nodded and she left. I frowned into my empty glass. It was nearly eleven, and we would have to leave soon. This was probably going to be the last whole day I could spend in the Rowling Dimension, where Voldemort and his threat was just a story. I wished I could stay, but I knew I couldn't.

Someone sat in Kailee's vacated seat. "Can I buy you a drink?" I looked up, about to say that I didn't drink and was leaving soon anyway, but the words died on my lips as I got a good look at the man beside me.

My mouth fell open. I studied his face for nearly a minute before I realized I hadn't said anything. "You're Oliver Phelps!" I breathed.

He laughed. "Do you really know, or is that just a guess?"

"Well – well I – I'm fairly certain I'm right." I swallowed nervously. This couldn't really be happening. Maybe Kailee or Lucy had spiked my soda.

"How's that?" he asked curiously.

"My – a couple of my friends are identical twins, and I usually get them right, and they're a lot harder to tell apart than you and James – " I suddenly realized I was rambling a bit and cut myself off, my face growing warm. "A–anyway, you don't have the scar James has on his eyebrow, so – so you're Oliver."

"Obviously a fan," he said, smiling at me. My face burned even more. "Well, you're right, I'm Oliver. So can I get you that drink?"

"Thanks, but I don't drink anything stronger than butterbeer – " I froze, realizing what I'd said. _Smooth, Wolfe_

Oliver laughed. "Butterbeer?"

I blushed. "I – I'm slightly obsessed with Harry Potter," I explained feebly. I'd said the same sentence many times before, but it seemed like years since I'd last said it. Actually, it probably _had_ been years. "I made it up. It's about a third milk and two-thirds root beer." I had actually had invented it the summer before my parents died. "Not bad when it's proportioned right, sort of like a root beer float with melted ice cream."

He nodded, though I could tell he didn't like the sound of my Muggle butterbeer recipe. "Why don't you drink? Not that I have a problem with it," he added quickly, "I'm just curious."

"Dad let me have a sip of his beer when I was seven," I said, smiling slightly at the memory. "I hated it. Haven't had any alcohol since." _Except butterbeer_, I added, to myself this time.

He smiled slightly at my story. "Well, you might like it now," he reasoned. "Tastes can change in – what?" He looked me over. "Eleven years?"

I thought for a moment, doing a bit of math. "Twelve years," I corrected, randomly feeling old. "I'm nineteen."

He gave me a small smile. "Say I buy you a drink, you try it, and if you don't like, you don't have to finish it?"

I considered. One sip wouldn't hurt my ability to Apparate, would it? You probably had to drink a whole glass of alcohol to be affected by it. But George wouldn't be happy to know I was drinking with another guy, whether he existed in his dimension or not (though I didn't really know if the Phelps twins existed in the Potterverse or not). But this may be my last day with anything that concerned Pottermania, maybe even in this dimension, so why couldn't I go a little wild?

"All right," I said finally. Something that I'd said to George after Slughorn's party last Christmas ran through my mind: _Judgment is the first thing to be affected by alcohol._ I shook it away. I deserved a bit of fun. "As long as you don't use it to drug and rape me," I joked with a smile.

He smiled charmingly. "I assure you, miss, my intentions are pure." He hailed Lucy, who was passing by. "Lager for me, please, and...an appletini for the lady."

Her eyes widened slightly, and I realized she had recognized Oliver as well. "Coming right up." Lucy glanced at me and gave me a wink before she walked away, and I blushed lightly.

"What's your name, by the way?" Oliver asked.

I almost told him I was Ivy, but I caught myself. "Sadie," I said, remembering the name I had given everyone at the premiere who'd signed my notebook. "Sadie Williams. I understand if you don't remember, but you and James both signed my notebook at the premiere yesterday."

He studied me for a second. "Oh, yeah," he said finally. "I'm surprised I didn't recognize you. You're the one who reminded me of Ivy Wolfe."

The fan girl in me was jumping up and down, screaming, _Oliver Phelps remembers me!_ I laughed nervously, trying to control the blush on my face that I knew was getting brighter. "Yeah, I get that a lot. J. K. Rowling even mentioned it when she signed my notebook." I smirked proudly. Maybe I really was Ivy, but that didn't stop me from getting excited at the memory of being recognized by the author of the books I practically worshiped. "There was a girl on the plane to America last month who said people were speculating that Ivy was the long-lost daughter of Lily Potter and Sirius Black, since she has dark red hair and grey eyes."

Oliver shrugged. "I've heard more far-fetched ideas."

"I suppose. Definitely not as bad as all that twincest fan fiction out there." I wrinkled my nose. "Ick."

"I agree."

Lucy then returned with our drinks. "Enjoy," she said, before winking at me again and turning away.

The appletini was predictably green, and there was a wedge of a green apple stuck on the rim of the martini glass. I picked it up and took a tentative sip. It tasted something like green apple candy. "Not bad," I said, surprised by the lack of what I was sure would have been an overpowering taste of vodka or rum or whatever they put in martinis. I still thought butterbeer was far better, but I decided that appletinis were the best Muggle drink.

Oliver grinned at me. "Thought you'd like it." He drank some of his beer. "So your twin friends, do they ever switch places on you?"

I frowned. "Not really," I said thoughtfully. "They might've when I was first learning to tell them apart, but I know they don't now. They wouldn't switch with each other's girlfriends." Or really, George would probably kill Fred if Fred fooled me into thinking he was George.

"You're seeing one of them?" I nodded. "How long have you been with him?"

I thought back to that night, the Battle of the Tower, Dumbledore dead... My stomach churned guiltily as I thought of Dumbledore, and I fought the sudden urge to slam back the rest of my drink. "Since June," I said quietly, though loud enough to be heard. "It's good." I sipped my drink again. I decided to drink all of it. Oliver was paying for it, after all, and I hoped that being a witch would help me sober up faster.

Oliver leaned a little closer to me. "You don't sound like it's good." He sounded genuinely concerned and fan-girl me got excited again.

I shook my head. "No, no, me and – and Justin are great, really." I winced slightly. George wouldn't like it, I knew, but Justin had been the first name that wasn't _Harry Potter_ related that came to mind. "Just – the day we got together – " I paused, trying to choose my words carefully. "Well, a few things happened that – that I – I had the power to stop, and I tried, I really did, but it didn't work, and now everything's falling apart, and – " I stopped abruptly and shook my head. I was only digging a hole. "My relationship with Justin is wonderful, it's everything else in my life that's gone to shit."

He was frowning. "Would it help if you told me about it?"

For a moment, I wondered why Oliver Phelps was so concerned over some random American girl he barely knew. I shook my head. "You don't need to worry about me and my problems, Oliver. There's better things to think about." I suddenly noticed that Kailee had not returned from the bathroom. "Where is she?" I wondered to myself, looking around.

"Who?"

"Kailee," I said, looking in the direction of the bathroom. I was slightly worried. I could feel my wand in the hidden pocket of my jeans, but fought the urge to pull it out. "My friend. She went to the bathroom a while ago."

"The girl you were sitting with earlier?"

"Yeah."

"She's with James and Ben."

I looked where he had gestured and saw Kailee sitting at a table farther back in the bar, with James and a dark-haired guy I didn't know, talking with them animatedly. I was fairly certain Kailee didn't know who either of them were at all. "Hmm," I muttered, turning back to my drink. "Guess we're staying a bit longer."

"Do you live in Liverpool?" Oliver asked.

"Nah. I share an apartment in London with Kailee. We came out here 'cause I've never actually been to Liverpool in the two years I've been in England. Actually," I frowned at Oliver, "what are you three doing in Liverpool?"

He shrugged. "Ben lives in Wavertree, we're staying with him for a couple days."

I nodded, even though I had no clue what Wavertree (though I guessed it was an area of Liverpool, like Little Whinging was a part of Surrey), and drank some more of my drink.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Oliver and I were on our fourth round of beer and appletini. I was drunk and I knew it. Oliver was a bit sillier, but he was holding the alcohol far better than I was.

"Don't buy me anything else, okay, Ollie?" I slurred, my chin propped on my right hand. I told myself not to do magic or Apparate anywhere. I also kept repeating to myself, _Don't mention Harry Potter, don't mention Harry Potter_, in an attempt to keep myself from blabbing about the different universes. I nodded to myself. I hoped Kailee was sober. A taxi ride all the way to London would take a long time, and would probably be expensive.

"Wasn't going to, love," he replied, grinning at me. "Shouldn't have bought you that last one, but you kept asking – "

"You – you didn't have to listen, you know. Silly Ollie," I added with a giggle. I knew I was probably making a complete fool of myself, but I hardly cared. It wasn't like I would ever see him again. I had no idea if Oliver even liked being called Ollie, but he wasn't complaining. I knew James hated being called Jamie, though.

Oliver's hand covered mine. "I just can't resist such a pretty girl," he said cheekily.

I blushed and did some more giggling. "Aw, yer sweet!" I looked around. The table that Kailee had been sitting at with James and Ben was now only occupied by Ben, who was fiddling with his cell phone. I turned back to Oliver, still grinning. "Where'd Kailee go?"

"Don't worry, I saw her leave with James."

The smile fell from my face. "What?" I squeaked. "She can't leave! She has all my money in her purse!"

He squeezed my hand. "They didn't leave, they probably went to find an alley to snog in or something."

I barely heard him. "She has to take me home! She's not as drunk as I am, I can't Appar– drive, and – "

What Oliver did then completely surprised me. He leaned across the table and pressed his lips to mine, effectively silencing me.

My eyes widened for a moment, then drifted closed as I kissed him back. It was good, very nice. His fingers caressed the back of my right hand while his other hand cupped my cheek. I laced my fingers through his brown hair. It was soft, and a bit shorter than George's –

With sudden horror, I realized just what I was doing. With a gasp, I jerked away from Oliver and jumped up, knocking over two of my empty appletini glasses and nearly doing the same to my chair. I stared at him, and he stared at me. A passing bar patron frowned at us as he walked by on the way to the door, pulling on his jacket.

My hands were shaking as I tried to decide what to do, a million thoughts and questions racing through my mind. Why had he kissed _me_, a girl he met only a few hours ago and barely knew? Why had I kissed him back? What would George say? Oh, God, what do I do? _What would George say?!_

"I – I'm sorry," Oliver said finally, nervously. "I – I just – you're so – "

I breathed deeply, trying not to be as turned on as I was by that kiss. "You – you're a great guy, Oliver, but I..." I began slowly. This was really weird. Very rarely did guys ever flirt with me, except for George. I swallowed. "I'm in love with someone else. I'm sorry."

He shrugged, giving me a cute little half-smile. _NO, NO!_ I scolded myself wildly. _Not cute, ugly! Horribly, horribly ugly!_ "Don't be," he said. "Justin is a very lucky man."

I was confused for a moment, but then I remembered that I had told him I was dating Justin. "I'm the lucky one," I told him, truth in every bit of my sentence. I'd been lucky for a long time now. Lucky to be a witch, lucky to have gone to Hogwarts, lucky to have survived the war so long. And I was more lucky than anything to have George, who I loved, who loved me. I wouldn't have traded what I had with George for anything, anyone, in any world, dimension, or parallel universe.

"Hey Ivy," came Kailee's voice from right behind me. "What's going on?"

I jumped about a mile and spun around to face her. "Nothing!" I exclaimed too quickly, and far too defensively.

The smile she was wearing fell from her face and she frowned at me. I noticed her hair and clothes were quite a bit messier than it had been when I last saw her, and her lip gloss was smudged. Standing just behind her was James Phelps, looking just as disheveled as Kailee did.

I started laughing. "Nice lip gloss, James," I giggled. "It's a good color on you." Both Kailee and James turned red, and James's hand flew to his mouth to wipe it off.

"You've been drinking!" Kailee exclaimed suddenly in surprise.

I blushed, realizing again how much I was slurring. "Yes, yes, I'm too drunk to Appar– drive." I corrected quickly.

Kailee instinctively drew attention away from my blunder. "Bloody hell, you were supposed to stay sober!"

"You didn't?"

"No!"

"Uh, it's my fault," Oliver spoke up in my defense. "I bought her the appletini." Kailee exhaled in annoyance and glared at him.

"Relax," James said, and put an arm around her waist. Color rose again in her face as I smirked at her. "We can get you a taxi."

She frowned at him. "You don't have to – "

James waved a hand. "No trouble. Can't have you driving all the way to London drunk."

We hadn't driven, but the laws were basically the same. Kailee sighed reluctantly. "All right."

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I'll see if they have a phone book." He headed for the bar.

I giggled at her. She looked so flustered. "Have fun?" I asked.

She glared. "Shut up."

I lowered my voice. "You're being careful?"

She gave me the most bizarre look that I had to laugh out loud. "Nosy," she muttered.

"No, no," I giggled. "I meant, y'know..." I did a little swish-and-flick motion in the air with an invisible wand.

"Oh!" She nodded. "Yes, of course I am."

"Don't lead him on too strongly," I warned in a serious whisper. "We may never see them again."

She actually looked a little sad and looked over at James, who was talking on a telephone hidden behind the bar. "I know."

"You fancy my little brother?" Oliver asked suddenly, grinning at her.

She looked confused, probably by who his 'little brother' was. "He's talking about James, Kailee," I supplied. "Oliver's older by thirteen minutes." Kailee looked a little surprised by my knowledge of this, and Oliver seemed a bit creeped-out. I blushed slightly and looked away from both of them. "They're my favorite actors..."

Oliver smirked and looked at Kailee. "I can tell he likes you," he continued teasingly. "Twin thing."

"And it wasn't totally obvious, 'cause everyone makes out with people they don't like for two hours." Oliver rolled his eyes at me.

James returned. "A car should be here in a few minutes," he reported.

Kailee shared a look with him, and then grabbed his hand. "We'll be back," she told us, and they hurried out of the pub.

Oliver laughed quietly. I sat down again and began nervously righting the glasses I knocked over. "It – it was nice meeting you, Oliver," I said quietly.

"We'll have to do it again," he said with a smile. I frowned. "Meet each other, I mean."

I swallowed. "That may not be possible," I said carefully.

He grinned. "Just because I'm famous doesn't mean we won't see each other again."

I sighed. Why did everything seem so much worse when you were drunk? Wait, alcohol's a depressant. Well, _duh_. "I've met enough famous people to know that's true," I said, thinking fondly of Harry and Dumbledore. "But it's me who won't be around to be seen, and I'm hardly famous at all."

Oliver frowned. "Is this because I kissed you?" he asked. "I know that was a stupid thing to do, and I won't do it again – "

I shook my head. "It's bigger than that, Oliver. Lives are at stake."

He was utterly confused. "_Lives_?" he repeated incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

I avoided his question. "If I could stay in contact with you, I would, believe me. But this situation I'm in isn't safe for you, for me, for anyone. All you need to know is that it's not really safe for me to be in contact with you."

He stared at me calculatingly. "Who are you, really?"

I spoke without missing a beat. "Ivy Wolfe, Muggle-born American witch fighting in the war against Voldemort."

I wondered for an instant if it had been smart to tell him that, but he laughed. "Not going to tell me, are you?"

Relieved, I smiled. "I'm just a girl who knows more than she should."

"Well, _Ivy_," he said with a laugh, "if you need a place to hide from Voldemort, give us a ring, all right?" He pulled a pen out of his back pocket and picked up a clean paper napkin. He scribbled a number on it and handed it to me. "That's our place in Birmingham."

I stared at the number for a moment, then looked up at him. "You realize you just gave a fan your personal phone number?"

"I trust you not to let it get all over the internet," he said with a smile.

I laughed a little. "You ought to be a bit more careful, y'know. Do you often go around picking up girls in pubs and getting them drunk?"

He grinned cheekily. "Nah, you're special."

I frowned. "Why me, though?" I asked.

"Why you what?"

"Why'd you decide to buy me a drink? Seriously, it's the sort of thing that happens in fan fiction."

Oliver smiled. "You looked like you needed someone." I frowned slightly. "And I told James and Ben that you were an attractive red-head, and they convinced me to go offer you a drink."

I blushed. _Oliver Phelps thinks I'm attractive!_ the fan girl in me screamed, before I smacked said fan girl with a lead pipe.

"Seriously, though," he went on, "if you decide you want to get in contact with me, feel free to give me a ring."

I smiled. "If I get a chance, I'll be sure to."

James and Kailee appeared, somehow looking even more disheveled than before. "Taxi's here," said Kailee. "Ready?"

I stood, tucking Oliver's number into my pocket with my hidden wand. "Yeah." I looked at Oliver. "I really hope I'll see you again."

He nodded. "Same here."

I smiled slightly and turned away. I grabbed Kailee's arm and hurried her outside and into the cab before I was tempted to look back.

I bit my lip nervously as Kailee shut the door and said to the driver, "Soho Square, in London, please." The man nodded and drove away from the pub. Kailee sighed and sat back in her seat. "Well, that was crazy," she commented. I started to cry, and she looked at me in surprise. "What's the matter?"

"I can't believe I _kissed_ him!"

"What?!" Kailee nearly shouted, causing the driver to glare at us in the rear-view mirror. "You _what_?!"

"He kissed me, and I kissed him back! Half of me wants to celebrate and the other half wants to kill the celebrating half! I'm gonna be half-dead!"

"You're not going to be half-dead," she said, and I could hear her eye roll in her voice.

I tried to control myself, but it wasn't working. "I'll be all dead if George finds out! Oh, he's gonna hate me!" I moaned, covering my face with my hands.

Kailee sighed and squeezed my shoulder. "He's not going to hate you, he won't find out. We'll get you home and into bed, and when you've got a hangover tomorrow, I'll tell George you're sick 'cause you ate something funny."

I looked at her in shock. "You want me to _lie_ to him?"

She glared. "Do you want George to know you kissed some other bloke?"

"Of course not, but he already knows I'm keeping the truth about how I knew you a secret from him! What if he can tell I'm keeping something else from him?"

"Tell him he's being stupid."

I glared at her. "You're being stupid," I countered. "You're not helping!"

She sighed. "Well, you said Oliver kissed you first, and you're piss-drunk, so if he finds out, he'll probably understand." I shook my head, rubbing at my eyes. Somehow, I doubted he would understand. He loved me, and I loved him, and if he knew I had kissed Oliver back... "Anyway, he's a celebrity. I doubt you'll ever see him again."

I shrugged, and then pulled the white napkin out of my pocket. "He gave me his phone number," I said morosely, showing it to her.

She grabbed it. "Blimey, he must really like you! Must trust you too, to give a fan his number!"

"It's his and James's place in Birmingham," I said. "Told me to call him if I wanted to talk or something." I sighed. "I'll probably never have a reason to use it anytime soon."

"So you're not keeping it?"

I shrugged. "I'll keep it. Something might come up. It's good to be prepared."

* * *

Two hours (only possible after Kailee decided to speed things along with her magic) and almost £200 later, Kailee and I were stumbling up the stairs of our apartment building, in the Potterverse.

"Next time, we're getting a Portkey from the Ministry," Kailee said angrily. "You're lucky I had so much Muggle money with me for emergencies."

"I didn't think taxis cost that much!"

"They do when you want to go two hundred miles!"

"Well, I'm sorry I only had forty pounds left!"

"You owe me, Wolfe."

"Duly noted, my dear."

"Stop with the English accent," she exclaimed loudly, "you're awful at it!"

"Shh! Other people live here who like sleeping!"

"I don't care!" We stopped in front of the door. "They deserve to know what a git you are!"

"I'm not a git, you butt!"

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

"Skank!"

"Chick fight!"

Kailee and I both started at the unexpected voice. George was standing in the open doorway of our apartment.

"Well, don't let me stop you," he said, looking excitedly from me to Kailee. "Please continue!"

I giggled, still feeing awfully drunk. "You're such a freak, Weasley," Kailee growled as she pushed past him. "I'm going to bed!" George watched her go, and a moment later, I heard the bedroom door slam.

He frowned, turning back to me. "Is she drunk?"

I laughed, nervously this time. "Uh. A bit." It was odd that I still felt so tipsy. Maybe magic didn't help you sober up faster, maybe it made it take longer.

"Do you know it's three in the morning?" he asked. "You said you'd be back by midnight."

I wanted to go to him, but I knew if I took one step I would give away how drunk I was. He wouldn't like that I'd been drinking. _He also wouldn't like that I kissed Oliver!_ I blushed. "I, uh, I guess we kinda lost track of time."

He studied me. "You're not drunk too, are you?"

I bit my lip. "I actually drank more than Kailee."

"You're joking." He was gaping at me in disbelief.

"Nope." I tried walk as gracefully as possible into the apartment, but like I predicted, I stumbled on my first step and George caught my arm. "Heh. See?"

"But you don't like alcohol, you told me so yourself!" he said as he led me into the apartment.

"Apparently, though, I like alcohol when it doesn't taste like alcohol." I headed down the short hallway toward the bedroom I shared with Kailee. "Appletinis are wonderful, by the way." I tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Kailee!"

"Go away!"

I sighed. "Can't I at least have my PJs?" There was a pause, then a few moments later, she opened the door, shoved my pajamas into my arms, and slammed the door. George looked shocked, but I just sighed and crossed the hall to the bathroom. "I'll be back," I said, before closing the door.

"So you had fun in Ireland?" George asked through the door.

I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me. "Yeah. It's very green." George chuckled. "And the pub we went to was in Liverpool."

"Why Liverpool?"

I left the bathroom. "It's where the Beatles are from," I said as I dropped my dirty clothes outside the bedroom door, then continued on toward the living room with George. "My mom was a huge fan, and – well, I've wanted to go for a while." Half my reason for going was because Mom had wanted to go, but had never been able to find the time, or the money.

I went around to the front of the couch and pushed the coffee table away from it, then started pulling off the cushions. George stared. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"This thing is supposed to pull out into a bed," I said. I found a black metal bar and pulled. Miraculously, the thing started to unfold, and I pulled it out the rest of the way. The thin mattress was covered with a white cotton fitted sheet, but there wasn't a top sheet or blankets. I sat on it tentatively, and when I was sure it wasn't fold up on me, I laid down, my legs still hanging off the bed, and sighed heavily.

"All right, love?" He sat on the bed and leaned over me so he could touch my hair.

I thought guiltily of Oliver again, and I blushed. "Yeah," I said quickly. "Just...tired. Still drunk."

His fingers traced along my cheek and down my neck. "Can I stay with you tonight?" he asked. "I've missed you."

"I missed you," I muttered, distracted by his fingers on my skin. "If you promise not to take advantage of me in my drunken state," I said half-jokingly. Oliver. Gah! I mentally kicked myself.

"Never," he smiled.

I pushed myself up. "There's no sheets," I pointed out.

"Here." He grabbed one of the couch cushions from the floor and with a flick of his wand, he transfigured it into a neatly folded scarlet sheet. A _silk_ sheet.

His ears turned as red as the sheets, and I giggled despite myself. "George, what ARE you suggesting?" I teased. His mouth opened, but he seemed to have no idea what to say. I giggled again and took them from him. "Relax, George, they're just sheets." I shook it out and once he was situated, I lay down with him and pulled the sheet over both of us. I moved to kiss his cheek, but he turned and caught my lips with his.

All thought left me as his lips moved slowly against mine. It was heavenly. The way his arms held me impossibly close, the way his tongue slid leisurely against mine. I tangled my fingers in his hair, moaning quietly into the kiss. His arms tightened around me briefly, before he pulled his lips from mine.

We stared at each other for a moment, both breathing heavily. Then he kissed my lips again lightly. "I love you, my darling," he whispered.

Those words meant more to me than anything ever could. "I love you, George," I replied, and it didn't seem like enough just to say it, like I needed to do more, but I didn't know what.

He held up his wand, and a moment later, the lights went out. I heard a clatter as he dropped his wand on the long table behind the couch. I sighed in a way that I hoped sounded tired, and I settled myself against his chest. I could hear his heart pounding, and I could imagine mine sounded just the same.

"Goodnight, love."

"'Night."

I listened as his heartbeat slowed and his breathing became deep and even as he fell asleep. I continued listening, hoping it would lull me to sleep, or at least drain out the thoughts I didn't want to think at the moment. No such luck.

I loved George so much. I'd do anything to keep him happy. But could I lie about this? It wasn't like lying about the two dimensions, because that wasn't really a lie. That was more of a promise to explain everything when the war was over, so my little brother and all the other Muggles in the Rowling Dimension could remain safe from Voldemort. Lying about this didn't save anyone. It only protected me from loosing George, which I didn't think I could handle.

I bit my lip, trying to look at it differently. Oliver Phelps didn't exist here. I would never see either of the Phelps twins again, except in the sixth and seventh movies.

Oliver didn't exist here, so the kiss didn't exist. I would _never_ see Oliver in person again.

I thought of the phone number that was still in my jeans pocket, and I bitterly forced myself to close my eyes and fall into a restless sleep.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** The plot thickens! MUAHAHA! _

_**Disclaimer Continuation:** I've never met James and Oliver Phelps (sob), so their personalities are fabricated from guessing on my part, accounts from other fans, and videos of interviews on YouTube (which I don't own). I also have no idea if James and Oliver have their own apartment. Why would I? I've never even been to England. _

Write in Raine: _(In response to your chapter two review) You got it all right off the bat! Wow! I totally started laughing when I read your review. I really didn't expect anyone to guess all three of them! _

_Kudos if you can tell me which Beatles song the chapter title is from. I think it'd be fairly easy if you know any of their biggest hits. And don't forget the soccer (football!) match thing I mentioned at the beginning. _

_As usual, I'm not sure when chapter eight will be up. It's the first week of school, I'm living in a dorm for the first time, and I'm just trying to get settled in. My favorite class so far is Latin. It is so fun! So, if you're ever wildly curious about what's going on in my life, or if you just want to know why I haven't updated in ages (if I have a good reason), I put little update things on my bio on my author's page. Irregularly, of course. _

_I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it until I got lazy. And then as I was finishing it yesterday, I was enjoying it more. It was funny. It didn't really hit me at first that I'd finished. _

_Anyway, love you all. Please review! You know how much I love them! And please don't hate me for the Oliver thing. You need to save your hate for later. I'm totally not joking. (Cough)foreshadowing(cough)._


	8. Spells and Charms

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Eight

_Spells and Charms_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ The last part of this chapter is going to serve as my "altered" rant for the Order of the Phoenix film, me being Ivy. I was watching it on my laptop as I typed this up so I can remember how I did react. When I first saw the movie, I kept thinking about what it would be like if Ivy had actually been in it. Is that really weird? I hope not. I'm also assuming that there are midnight showings of the _Harry Potter _films in England, like there are here. _

_This chapter gave me so much trouble, which Vixen Hood and Kaylin can attest to, as I have ranted to both of them numerous times over the past week or so. They are awesome. Hugs! _

_I added cedar and oak trees to Kailee's parents' farm in chapter seven. You don't need to waste your time to go back and read it. Seriously, I just added on to one sentence. I just wanted to let you know so that later on (September in the story) you're not wondering where the trees came from. Yeah. _

_Thanks for all the reviews, but no one tried guessing what chapter seven's chapter title was from. What's that about? _

DietCherryVanillaDrPepper: _LOL. You just keep wondering. _

wendystwin: _You'll hate me later. It seems like I say that too much. I let you read the chick fight part before, remember? _

Write in Raine: _Awesomely awesome freaky brain thing. Ha. I like that. _

Cyanica: _Ha, I almost forgot about the soccer foreshadowing. Oliver supports Aston Villa Football Club. I suppose you'd only get it if you know almost too much about the Phelps twins. Anyway, the foreshadowing gnome is taking a well-deserved break for a few chapters. _

Vixen Hood: _You're still the only one who threatened me with violence. I really thought Kaylin would have. Ha. The lead pipe thing still makes me laugh. _

_**Disclaimer:** Inspiration for the name and logo of the restaurant, Spells and Charms, came from Vixen Hood's suggestion of 'Spells and Wands'. Yay! Also, I thankfully do not own Girl Scouts, though I was one. I never really liked it. _

* * *

"This is stupid, Kailee."

"It is not! You look fine!"

I stared at myself in the mirror. "I know I look all right, I just don't like skirts." I tugged at the hem of the pleated black skirt Kailee had forced me into. It only came about halfway down my thigh. It did look okay with the dark green shirt I was wearing, but I still felt rather exposed.

"Who cares if you don't like skirts?" Kailee asked, grinning wildly. "George is going to _love_ it!"

I scowled at her. "He likes me just fine in jeans and a t-shirt."

"You're _not_ wearing jeans and a t-shirt to _Spells and Charms_, for Merlin's sake! It's a really nice restaurant! Nobody wears dress robes because Muggles eat there too, and this is the only nice Muggle outfit I have." The doorbell rang. "Stay," she ordered, pointing at me threateningly. I rolled my eyes as she skipped off to answer the door, and I looked back at my reflection.

I was nervous. I knew I had no reason to be, but I still was. Especially if I had to wear this thing from hell that Kailee called a skirt. She insisted on picking me out something to wear for my date with George. She found the shirt in my closet, and had shrunk one of her skirts so it would fit me right, as she was a good four inches taller than I was. The black dragon-hide boots that came nearly to my knees had been a present from Aunt Becky last Christmas, though I'd had yet to wear them. The three-inch heel really pushed what I was comfortable walking in. Kailee had also spent an hour arranging my hair into an elaborate bun, and though she hadn't used magic to do it, it looked great.

Personally, I never thought I looked that great in a skirt. Or maybe it was some crazy psychological thing that had to do with various incidents throughout my school years, including one in second grade that involved my Brownie Girl Scout skirt, too much lemonade, and a very stupid teacher who would not let me go to the bathroom. Whatever it was, the fact remained that I hated skirts.

I smoothed down my shirt over my stomach. Then I pulled my mother's locket out from under my shirt. I couldn't decide whether to wear it on the outside of my shirt or not. I was extremely paranoid that it would catch on something, the chain would break, I wouldn't notice, and it would be lost forever. I cringed at the thought and stuck it under my shirt again.

In the past two days, Kailee had not mentioned that night in Liverpool. She certainly wasn't mad at me anymore, since I'd paid her back for the cab fare. I was happy she didn't mention it, as I half-expected her to go on and on about how wonderful James was. But I simply refused to think about _him_, refused to let _him_ exist, even in my head.

"Nice legs."

I jumped. George was standing in the doorway, looking me over appreciatively. He was wearing a casual black Muggle suit, with a red shirt and an orange tie. The jacket was unbuttoned, as were the top two buttons of his shirt, and the tie hung undone around his neck.

I blushed and looked back at my reflection, unnecessarily straightening my skirt. "I hate skirts," I told him morosely.

"I think you look lovely," he said, coming to stand behind me. He embraced me from behind, lacing his fingers over my stomach. "You will wear it, won't you, darling?" He said 'darling' the way he'd said it on Friday night, and it sent shivers up my spine.

His thumb was stroking my stomach, and his lips were moving along my ear and down my neck. My heart was racing and I felt rather dizzy. "All – all right," I gasped, and he laughed. I swallowed, trying to control my breathing. "Why are you here so early? You said you weren't coming until five to."

He kissed my cheek. "I just couldn't stand to be away from you any longer!" he said dramatically, and I giggled. "And I've got something for you." He let go of me and reached into his pocket. "Close your eyes."

Grinning, I did as he asked. A moment later, he put a hand on my waist and said, "Okay." I opened my eyes, and gasped.

It was a necklace, a very beautiful one. The pendant was a round, glittering red stone set into a small silver sun. I turned around to face George, shocked. His ears were a little red. "It – it's a sunstone," he explained, watching me anxiously. "I've charmed it so it'll change color to match whatever you're wearing. Do you like it?"

"Of – of course, it's beautiful! But George, it must have been so expensive – "

He relaxed. "Don't worry about how much it was, it's yours." He took the necklace from me and fastened it carefully around my neck. As soon as the pendant landed on my chest, the stone changed from red to green, matching my shirt, still sparkling.

"George, I – you really didn't need to – "

He silenced me with a kiss, drawing me close. "I wanted to," he said when he pulled away. He grinned at me and kissed my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, blushing a little. "But you don't need to buy me anyth– oh," I sighed. He had dipped his head down to press his lips to my neck. I tangled my fingers in his hair, forgetting my argument entirely. He laughed and looked at me, grinning. He touched my cheek gently, then kissed me. His other hand moved slowly down my back and came to a rest on my rear. I pulled myself closer to him, deepening the kiss. His hand continued downward along my skirt, and I moved up to my tiptoes. His fingers touched the hem of my skirt and –

"STOP!"

Both mine and George's heads turned quickly. Kailee was standing in the open doorway, looking furious. "You touch her hair, Weasley, and I swear – "

I laughed and reluctantly pulled away from George to face the mirror. "Relax, Kailee, my hair's fine." I set about straightening my clothes, trying to ignore the way George was watching me in the mirror.

"I think she should wear her hair down," he suggested innocently.

I watched as Kailee's cheeks turned from a little pink to very red. "She will _not_! Not after the hour I spent doing her hair!"

George's eyes went wide and he held up his hands in mock surrender. "All right!" He lowered his hands. "And it looks great, Kailee," he added with a winning smile.

She glared. "It better," she huffed. "And for Merlin's sake, George, fix your tie!" She stormed out of the room.

George snickered as he faced the mirror to button his shirt and do up his tie. "She's in a state, isn't she? Seems more anxious about this than we are."

I bit my lip, tugging at my skirt yet again. That was easy for him to say; he wasn't stuck wearing a skirt. He finished with his tie and, catching the look on my face, wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Don't worry about a thing, love," he said quietly. "You'll be the most beautiful woman there."

He smiled at me adoringly, and I felt my face heat up as my stomach fluttered happily. His fingers traced my cheek and my jaw line before he pulled my lips to his briefly.

"We should get going," he said when he pulled away, grinning. He seemed breathless. "Don't want to loose our reservations."

* * *

Spells and Charms was a small restaurant that was precariously perched on the banks of the River Severn in Gloucester. _Very_ precariously. I immediately thought of Aunt Josephine from _A Series of Unfortunate Events_. The sign on the building displayed 'Spells and Charms' with two crossed wands acting as an ampersand. It was clearly lit with magic, not electricity, but Muggles didn't seem to spare it a passing glance.

The interior was full of white-clothed tables and red leather armchairs. There was a fire burning in the fireplace in the center of the room. George and I were seated at a small table by the window overlooking the river. When I sat down, I realized the chairs were actually made of dragon hide.

I looked over the menu. In addition to an extensive (and very expensive) wine list, they also had a number of Muggle sodas, water, tea, and coffee. In a small square at the bottom that was probably invisible to Muggles, there was Ogden's Old Firewhisky, butterbeer, gillywater, pumpkin juice, and some other probably magical drinks that I'd never heard of. Once our waiter had hurried off to fetch my root beer and George's butterbeer, I looked over the food.

A lot of it might have well have been in French. Some of it was easy enough to understand, like spaghettini with crab, eggs benedict, and meat pies (I was American enough to believe that meat didn't belong in pies). However, there was also "kedgeree" (which as far as I knew, could have been any language in the world), "fillet of brill", and "herb crusted Blythburgh pork cutlet with bubble and squeak and caramelised apples" (why did bubble and squeak sound familiar?). And it didn't help that there weren't any pictures of the food.

"What's mash?" I asked George. "Like, mashed potatoes?" He looked up briefly and nodded. "Okay, I've decided," I said, closing the menu.

"On what? That didn't take very long."

I grinned. "Bangers and mash," I said happily. Ah, that sounded so English. "If I spend too much time looking, I'll never decide."

He laughed. "You knew what bangers are, but not mash?"

I giggled. "'Bangers' is a funny word. What are you thinking?" I asked, nodding at his menu.

He looked down at it. "Curry chicken or...kedgeree."

"What's kedgeree?"

"Mum's made it a few times. Rice, eggs, fish. Pretty good. I think I'll get it, you can try some." He closed his menu and reached for my hand, grinning. "So why is 'bangers' so funny?"

"It's so English. Like – like tea time with scones, or – um – fish and chips."

"Really?" His thumb was stroking the back of my hand.

I nodded, smiling. "I like all the English things no one says in America. Blimey, tosspot, knickers." I lowered my voice. "Shagging, too."

George laughed, squeezing my hand gently. The waiter then returned with our drinks. Both my root beer and George's butterbeer were in the same type of glass bottle, probably to keep Muggles from wondering what wizards were drinking. "Are you ready to order?" he asked. He'd mentioned his name, but I'd already forgotten it.

George nodded at me to go first. "Uh, bangers and mash, please."

The waiter nodded and scribbled it down on a little notepad. "And you, sir?"

"The kedgeree."

He wrote it down. "All right, it'll be out in about ten minutes." He hurried off, taking our menus. I was surprised by how little time it would take. I assumed magic cooked things faster.

"What else do you like, love?"

He picked up my hand, kissing the back of it gently. I remembered when he'd called me darling earlier, the absolutely wonderful way it affected me. I blushed. "Um...well..."

"Yes?"

I swallowed. "It's silly, but...when you call me darling. I love that. It's not really the word, it's the way you say it. It...I dunno..."

"It gets you randy?"

I stared at him. He was grinning, but I was confused. Who was Randy? "What?"

"Randy. Y'know, sexy. Turns you on."

I blushed even more. "Er – yeah, I guess that would be the word for it."

He laughed quietly, sliding his chair around the table closer to mine. "Well, that's not silly at all." He rested his hand on my thigh, just below the hem of my skirt, which I'd actually forgotten I was wearing. "I'll have to keep that in mind." I returned his smile, covering his hand with mine.

"Here you are." I jumped. Our waiter had returned with our food. "Bangers and mash," he set the dish in front of me, "and kedgeree." He put the plate in front of George. "Would you like anything else?"

George looked at me, and I shook my head. "Not at the moment, thanks," he said to the waiter, who nodded and left.

We dug in. The sausages were delicious, especially dipped in the mashed potatoes. George let me have a bite of his kedgeree, which was pretty good, though I usually didn't like fish. About halfway through the meal, George mentioned that Katie and Oliver were sitting at a nearby table.

Miraculously, I managed not to freeze up or choke hideously at the mention of Oliver's name. _Oliver __Wood__, dumbass!_ I scolded myself harshly. "Really?" I asked, looking around.

Katie Bell and Oliver Wood were indeed sitting at a table across the room. "Are they seeing each other?" George wondered.

I shrugged. I hadn't really been in contact with any of the (original) Gryffindor Chasers. And I didn't read _Witch Weekly_, so I wasn't exactly up on all the hot gossip about Puddlemere United Keepers. Then again, I didn't really know what was in _Witch Weekly_, other than the Most Charming Smile Award. Huh. Whatever. "I dunno," I said. "Looks like it. I don't know Oliver very well, though, so..." I trailed off, trying not to smirk. What an outright lie. Oliver Wood could be summed up in two words: Quidditch. Obsessed.

"He's obsessed with Quidditch," George said. _I rest my case,_ I thought. I smiled at George, and he went on. "Really obsessed. He was our Quidditch captain before Angelina, and one year he told Harry to 'get the snitch or die trying'." I laughed out loud. I'd forgotten about that. George grinned. "Perhaps he's mellowed out a bit since then, since he's _only_ a reserve Keeper for Puddlemere United, but I think Katie's the sort of person who could deal with his obsession."

I giggled, still thinking about how Lockhart had removed all the bones in Harry's arm after that game with the rouge Bludger. "Definitely," I agreed. "I think she could deal with anyone with any sort of obsession."

We laughed together briefly before finishing our meal.

* * *

One week after "the incident in Liverpool" (as I had taken to calling it), on the twelfth, _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ was released in theatres in the United Kingdom. It was a Saturday in the Potterverse (Thursday in the Rowling Dimension), so right after Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes closed up for the night, I made my excuses to George, went home with Kailee (who didn't want to see the movie), and snuck out to 2007 for the midnight showing.

It was about two-thirty in the morning when I sat down heavily on the couch in my apartment beside Kailee. She was watching a late-night silent movie, which she switched off as I sat down. "So how was the movie?"

I shrugged. "Terrible, if you compare it to what actually happened. Otherwise, great." I rolled my eyes. "The Death Eaters and the Order at the Ministry were flying. _Without brooms_."

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "I think the director likes breaking magical law. The guard that took Harry from the Dursleys to Grimmauld Place flew along the Thames. Not high above, like they should have, but right alongside a boat filled with Muggles."

"Oh my gosh!"

"I know! Mad-Eye would join the Death Eaters before he allowed something like that!"

Kailee laughed, nodding. "How were your parts?"

"They put me in one of the not-really-horseless carriages with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna. I rambled on quite a bit." Kailee laughed. "I wasn't seen with Fred and George until the feast. And Lee wasn't even in it."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "But, ohmigod, you should have seen – You know how Lucius Malfoy was trying to get the prophecy from Harry?" She nodded. "Okay, so, Death Eaters had all the others – me too – in a big circle in the Death Room, and Harry had just handed over the prophecy – which he didn't really do – and all of the sudden, Sirius shows up. Lucius turns around, and Sirius is like, 'Get away from my godson!' And he punches Lucius in the face!"

Kailee laughed. "Oh, brilliant!"

"I know, it was so sweet!" I grinned, remembering the cheering from people in the theatre. "I always liked Sirius in the books. I wish I'd met him more than just the one time."

"I didn't know you'd met him."

"Sort of. I literally ran into him as I was trying to find them. He must have thought I was crazy – I demanded to know why they hadn't been there sooner because Harry was fighting off Death Eaters."

"Smooth," she snickered.

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, Harry wasn't spazzy and angry enough."

She stared at me. "_Spazzy and angry_...?" she repeated, and I giggled.

"Of course, you wouldn't know. In the book, Harry tore apart Dumbledore's office."

Her mouth fell open. "What?!"

"Oh, don't tell him I told you. I think only he and Dumbledore know. And all the portraits in there, too, I suppose – "

"Why on earth would he do that?!"

"Well, it was right after Sirius died. And all year he'd been freaking out at things, and I guess Sirius was just the straw that broke the camel's back."

"What did Dumbledore do?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"He just let him throw his things."

"You're not serious."

"I am." She just gaped at me. "Dumbledore never told Harry about the prophecy, that he was the one destined to kill Voldemort, until that night. I guess he thought he deserved Harry freaking out at him."

She twitched when I said 'Voldemort'. "What exactly does the prophecy say?"

I frowned, thinking. "Oh jeeze. Um...I memorized it once, ages ago. _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him. Born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord will_ – wait." I pulled my wand out and aimed it at the door. "_Muffliato_."

"What was that for?" Kailee asked incredulously.

"Someone could be listening, and I think Voldemort still doesn't know the whole thing." I put my wand away. "Anyway, _The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not._ Uh...oh, _and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives._ And then I think it repeated the first part."

She looked thoughtful. "What power does Harry have that You-Know-Who doesn't?"

"Love?" I guessed, shrugging. "I don't really know."

"And the last part you said, what was that?"

"_Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives_?" She nodded. "One of them has to kill the other."

"Do you think Harry will win?"

Her voice was hushed, and I laughed briefly. "At first – well, I read book six before I ever met Harry, and then I thought that he didn't have any hope without Dumbledore. But now I think he can do it." I sighed. "Harry's really the only hope we have left."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Wow. I'm sorry, that was a really crappy ending. The end of the middle section was really bad too. More things to add to my "things to fix later" list. _

_Well, chapters nine and ten are both done, except for a last read-through. You're not getting them right away, of course. Review, then you get more. Anyway, ten begins _Deathly Hallows_, and nine sort of leads into it. So, as long as you've read book seven, you might be able to figure out what's in nine and ten. Whatever. _

_I dunno when I'll give you nine. I could be really evil and wait until Harry Potter Day, which is coming up (October 31st). Wow, Part III is already almost a year old! The whole series will be four on New Year's. That's so funny. At the rate I'm going, it'll still be unfinished by the time it's five. So how many people have forgotten what happened in Part I? Hahaha. I have to go back and read every once in a while, for the sake of continuity. The quality of the earlier chapters seems to be getting crappier and crappier every time I go back. Once I finish Part III, I'm probably going to do a gigantic overhaul of the whole thing. _

_Anyway, nine might be up the last weekend of September, or maybe the beginning of October, and then ten will be up on Harry Potter Day. Yeah, that's a Friday. I should be able to do that. _

_Don't forget, reviews make me smile! They also make chapter nine come faster!_


	9. Plan B

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Nine

_Plan B_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I fixed one tiny thing in chapter eight: In the United Kingdom, the Order of the Phoenix film was actually released on July 12th. I had it as the 11th, which is when it was released in the States. Then I had what day it was in the different dimensions, so I also had to change that to Saturday in the Potterverse (1997) and Thursday in the Rowling Dimension (2007). It's just a little nitpicky thing. _

_So I was fixing up my Part III calendar, and as I was reading through the first few chapter of _Deathly Hallows_, I noticed that Rita Skeeter's book _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore _was nine hundred pages long, and she apparently wrote it in the four weeks after Dumbledore's death. Nine hundred pages in four weeks? Holy crap! Now I'm curious how long everything I've written for AUM is. I'm going to figure that out eventually. Anyway, can you imagine having to write a nine-hundred-page book in four weeks? Ridiculous. There has to be some record breakage there (if it was a real book). _

_Anyway, I've redone the calendar. The new chapter count is forty-four chapters, plus the epilogue. Wow. More than last time. Well, I'll probably end up cramming things together and adding things, so it'll probably change again. _

wendystwin: _Gee, you're nice. cough-SARCASM-cough. Anyway, we're going to have to work out some sort of agreement when I move in with you, to keep you away from my unposted fan fic. Incidentally, I'm conveniently going out of town when I put up the last chapter of AUM. LOL. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Alfred Hitchcock, or any of his films. Uh...yeah, all right. I don't own the plot of _Deathly Hallows_, either. Chapter two of _Deathly Hallows _doesn't start until the next chapter, but there's stuff in here. Yeah. Also don't own Borders or Barnes & Noble. _

* * *

If one single moment culminated seventeen years of work by J. K. Rowling, it would be the moment the clock struck midnight on July 21st, 2007. It was a day _Harry Potter_ fans had been waiting for since one-year-old Harry Potter was left on a Muggle doorstep by the greatest wizard of the age. If you walked into a bookstore, whether it was Borders, Barnes & Noble, or the cute little bookshop down the street, you could feel the anticipation in the air. It was palpable and contagious. All over the world, as midnight drew closer and closer, fans dressed as their favorite characters chatted animatedly about their favorite theories with excited smiles on their faces, not caring that they sporadically got weird looks from passersby at their clothing. This was a magic all its own, a kind that J. K. Rowling had brought about, giving children and adults alike a renewed love of books and reading.

Attending a midnight release party was like nothing else. It was breathtaking. Fans would discuss with other fans, sometimes complete strangers, whether Harry would live. Or what the Deathly Hallows were. Or whether Snape would turn out to be good or evil. And then at midnight, when _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ is handed to the first person in line, the whole store would cheer.

Though it would be an hour later, you would savor the feeling as a copy of the book is finally passed into your own hands, just knowing that J. K. Rowling had outdone herself yet again. Though it had been two years and five days (you'd been counting) since book six, you would just know it had been well worth the wait. You would run out to the parking lot while singing loudly to avoid hearing spoilers from people who had already read the last chapter, and then drive home at near-illegal speeds with _Deathly Hallows_ lying in the passenger seat.

You won't be able to put it down and you'll happily fall asleep at nine in the morning in the middle of chapter seventeen. You would be locked in your room for the next twenty-four hours, completely shut off from the world. And when you finally read the last word, you would put down the book and stare at the wall for ten minutes, crying, simply because it was over, and characters were dead, perhaps one of your favorites.

I knew, before I even started _Sorcerer's Stone_, that I would love the books, and thus begged my mother to buy me the first book. She did, and enabled what had become a eight-year-long obsession for me. In less than two years, I was reading and writing my first fan fiction. Even then, my world literally revolved around the series.

The final book, _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_, would bring the saga to a close on July 21st, 2007. To miss such a release would be considered a mortal sin to many obsessive _Potter_ fans. Yet, as the clocks struck midnight in 2007, in a parallel dimension set ten years in the past, I was stuck sitting in an Order of the Phoenix meeting as Mad-Eye went over the plan to get Harry away from Privet Drive safely.

Yet again.

"Wolfe!" Mad-Eye barked, shocking me out of my thoughts. I'd been fantasizing about what I'd be doing if I wasn't really a witch, if I was still in Simi Valley with no idea the Wizarding world actually existed. "Are you paying attention?"

I sighed. "I paid attention the first time you went over the plan. And the second time. And the third – "

"It's midnight, Mad-Eye!" Tonks complained. "We're tired!"

My stomach gave a sort of nervous jolt and my eyes flew to my watch. Three minutes past midnight. I'd missed the final book release. I felt horrible. I knew I couldn't go, I refused to, but I still felt like I breaking some kind of tradition. Which I was: I'd been to every midnight release party since _Goblet of Fire_. I knew what I'd be doing right now if I was in Simi Valley. I'd be bouncing up and down, grinning like a fool as the line to the counter at Borders got shorter and shorter. Minus eight hours, of course, due to the time difference.

"Well, if you're sure you've got – "

"Yes!"

Mad-Eye decided to send us all home. It wasn't the most difficult plan to understand, after all. Mad-Eye was simply going to Side-Along with Harry to the Burrow, at the same time that Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones left with the Dursleys.

None of it involved me, though. That is, until very late the night before Harry was to be moved. It was just after midnight. George and I were curled up on my couch, while Kailee lay on the floor on her stomach, and Fred was sitting off to the side, watching Alfred Hitchcock's _Strangers on a Train_ on cable. My dad had loved Alfred Hitchcock movies, and they had become a bit of a novelty for me. George, however, wasn't quite as into it as I was. Kailee was practically glued to the screen, and Fred had disappeared into the kitchen to see if I had any Chocolate Frogs in my stash of candy.

"There he is," I said ten minutes into the film, pointing at the screen. Alfred Hitchcock himself could be seen getting on a train with a double bass.

"Who?" George asked.

"Alfred Hitchcock, the director, remember? He's in a bunch of his own movies."

"Shh!" Kailee shushed us.

Just then, a large silver tiger bounded into the room, and I gasped. Kailee turned around as it opened its mouth and spoke with Mad-Eye's voice: "_Meeting at the Burrow. Change of plans._"

Kailee sighed in annoyance as the tiger faded away. "Oh, come on, it just started!"

I sighed and reluctantly left the comfort of George's arms to stand and stretch. "Relax, Kailee, I've seen it a dozen times. I can tell you what happens."

"No! Don't tell me!" I giggled.

Five minutes later, we walked into the kitchen of the Burrow. Only Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Mundungus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione were there. Ron and Hermione had begun sitting in on Order meetings the week before. Mrs. Weasley had fought valiantly against it, but, since they were of age, she couldn't really stop them. The two of them had also prepared for when they would leave with Harry to go horcrux-hunting (not that I was supposed to know about the horcrux part, of course).

Hermione had modified her parents' memories, and they now believed that they were Wendell and Monica Wilkins and wanted to move to Australia (which made me laugh, thinking of Justin). When Hermione didn't show up at school in September, people would just assume that she had gone into hiding with her family, like many Muggle-borns had been doing recently (and I had as yet refused to do, much to George's dismay).

Ron, on the other hand, couldn't hide his entire family. So Mr. Weasley had helped Fred and George transfigure the ghoul in the attic of the Burrow. When Ron left with Harry, the ghoul would move into Ron's room, pretending to be Ron with spattergroit, an extremely contagious disease. That would therefore sufficiently explain why Ron would also not be at school. I was also sure that spattergroit had been mentioned at some point in one of the other books, but I couldn't remember when. Wherever it was, it must have been foreshadowing.

I sat down at the enlarged table between George and Kailee. Mrs. Weasley was bustling about making tea.

"Where's everybody else?" Fred asked.

"Dedalus has gone looking for them," said Mr. Weasley. "It is late, they're probably sleeping and missed the Patronuses." I glanced at my watch. It was half-past midnight.

Remus and Tonks then came bounding into the kitchen. Honestly, they were practically skipping. I don't think I'd ever seen Remus look so happy. Everyone stared at them.

Tonks looked at Remus excitedly, and once he nodded, she grinned around at the room and flung her hand out. I saw a ring glittering there.

I gasped, along with Mrs. Weasley, who dropped a teacup and flung her arms around Remus, then Tonks. "Oh, that's _wonderful_!"

The next half hour passed quickly as more Order members arrived (almost all of them looking annoyed and half-asleep), and Tonks and Remus happily discussed their quiet wedding. When everyone had finally shown up, Mad-Eye called for attention.

"All right, there's been a change of plans for tomorrow night." Everyone stopped chatting as eyes turned to Mad-Eye. "Hestia, Dedalus, your part of the plan will remain the same. You will leave with Potter's aunt, uncle, and cousin as we had discussed. However, the rest of it needs to be changed. Pius Thicknesse has joined Voldemort, either by choice or by force, we can't be sure. Whatever his reasoning, it's created a problem."

I raised my hand. "Who – ?"

"Thicknesse is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Kingsley explained. "Earlier tonight, he made it illegal to connect the Dursleys' home to the Floo Network, place a Portkey there, or Apparate in or out. All in the interest of Harry's safety."

"But that's ridiculous," said Remus. "That's what Lily's charm does, isn't it?"

Mad-Eye nodded. "Exactly. However, because of the Trace, any spell we cast around Harry will alert Thicknesse, who will send the Death Eaters running."

"So Thicknesse 'as 'im cornered?" Fleur asked worriedly.

"Ah, that's what he thinks!" Mad-Eye was grinning. "There's one method of magical transportation that the Ministry can't realistically monitor with magic."

There a second of silence, during which I realized how strange it was to hear 'realistically' and 'magic' in the same sentence.

"Brooms," Ron said, speaking up for the first time. Everyone looked at him, and his face turned red. "Er – that's it, right? You're going to fly him out."

"Yes," said Mad-Eye. "Tomorrow, we will setting up a number of safe houses, one of which Harry will be flying to with Hagrid on Sirius's old motorbike."

I frowned. "Hold on, there's got to be more to this. I know Voldemort is extremely stupid, but he's got to have Death Eaters patrolling the area, even if they don't know exactly where the place is. They'll go straight for him."

"Exactly," he nodded. "Couple days ago, Mundungus, of all people," Mad-Eye ignored the offended glance Dung sent him, "suggested a Plan B, and I didn't think we'd need it. Turns out it'll be necessary. There will be six Potter decoys." Mad-Eye reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask of what looked like mud and put it on the table.

Everyone's eyes widened in realization, but I didn't understand until Hermione said, "_Polyjuice Potion_? Oh, no, Harry's not going to like this..." I had to agree with her. Harry wouldn't like people pretending to be him to distract a bunch of Death Eaters.

"Potter won't have much choice, will he?" Mad-Eye growled. "There will be six pairs, each consisting of a decoy and a protector. Each will be heading for a different safe house, hopefully diverting attention from the real Harry." My eyes widened. Harry was _definitely_ going to detest this idea with every fiber of his being. "Protectors will be Hagrid, Bill, Tonks, Arthur, Kingsley, and myself. The decoys will be Fred, George, Miss Delacour, Hermione, Ron, and Mundungus." Each of them nodded in agreement as Mad-Eye said their name, until he came to Mundungus.

"No bleedin' way!" Everyone looked at him. He looked every bit a coward. "I don' want ta be a decoy, I'd sooner be a protector."

Mad-Eye glared at him. "Any Death Eaters we run into will be looking to capture Potter, not kill him. The protectors have more to worry about, the Death Eaters'll want to kill them."

"M'not doin' this, m'not going to _die_ – "

I rolled my eyes. "Look, if it's such a problem, _I'll_ go in Dung's place." Everyone looked at me now. Mundungus look relieved, George and his mother looked equally horrified, and everyone else looked worried.

"Ivy, I don't – " George began, but I interrupted.

"You what?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. "I know what I'm doing, George, and I think it would be better to have someone there who is actually willing to be there." I turned away from George to face Mad-Eye. "Mad-Eye?"

Everyone turned to him. "You're not fully-trained – "

"So?" I argued. "I'm better at duelling than anything else." It was true. For my O.W.L.s, I'd gotten E's in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everything else I'd failed miserably. And since leaving school, I'd spent so much time learning any spell I could that was useful in a duel, that Kailee (who I'd taken to having mock duels with after giving up on duels with George – he barely fought back, and it was hardly a fair fight) and I were fairly evenly matched. And she was pretty good. I turned to her. "Right, Kailee?"

"Well, yes – "

"See?"

Everyone was quiet, staring at Mad-Eye. He finally sighed. "Fine. Ivy, you're a decoy."

I grinned happily, sitting back in my chair. George was glaring at Mad-Eye. The meeting went on, pairing up protectors and decoys, and deciding which pair was heading to which safe house. I was paired with Mad-Eye, going to his house. George seemed happy that I was with Mad-Eye – probably because he was the most experienced Auror in the Order and it was unlikely that any Death Eater would be able to take him out.

The next half hour or so was spent going over and fine-tuning the plan. At exactly nine-thirty, Dedalus and Hestia would Disapparate from a safe point ten miles from Privet Drive with the Dursleys. At the same moment, all seven pairs of Harrys and their protectors would take off, whether on broom, thestral, or motorbike. Harry's mother's charm would then be broken.

Once the whole plan had been explained, and we assured Mad-Eye that we understood everything, we went home. Fred went straight back to his and George's apartment, and since Kailee didn't feel like catching the tail-end of _Strangers on a Train_, she went to bed. George stayed up with me, and I made us both some hot chocolate.

"Ivy?" George asked from the living room.

"Georgie?" I teased half-heartedly, stirring the mix into the second mug. I knew what he was going to bring up, but I didn't want him to.

I heard him sigh. "I _really_ don't like you going tomorrow."

I stared down at the swirling liquid for a moment, then pulled out the spoon and tossed it in the sink. I picked up the drinks and carried them back to the couch. "I'll be fine, George," I said, as he took one of the mugs from me. I sat beside him, folding my legs beneath me.

"I'm worried about you."

"I know that." I drank some of my hot chocolate.

He looked at me. "Is that all you've got to say?"

"What do you expect me to say? That I'd rather sit home alone and worry myself sick over you?" He looked down at his mug. "I'm sorry, George, but you're not going to change my mind."

He made a frustrated noise and put down his still-untouched drink. "That doesn't mean I have to like it," he said, leaning back into the couch to stare up at the ceiling. "I love you."

I put down my own mug and leaned into him, and he wrapped an arm around me. "I love you too."

He kissed the top of my head. "Are you coming to the wedding?"

_What wedding?_ "Oh, Bill and Fleur's?" I looked up at him in confusion. "Am I invited?"

He laughed. "Of _course_ you're invited! I wouldn't want to dance with anyone but you."

I blushed as he kissed me gently. There was a hole in that plan. I pulled away. "George, I'm really not a great dancer."

"Then I wouldn't want to stumble about awkwardly with anyone but you." I sighed nervously. There would probably be waltzes and tangos and a hundred other dances that I couldn't think of because I didn't know them. He kissed my cheek. "Please say you'll come, darling," he whispered.

The words sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine, and it wasn't just that he'd called me darling again. I cursed my leftover band mind. _The dreams I'll have tonight...Stupid, sneaky, sexy-voiced bastard..._ "I'll come," I said, trying to ignore all the thoughts and fantasies flying through my mind. "I'm just warning you about my terrible dancing skills."

"I think I'll survive," he said with a smirk. Then he kissed me, for the moment driving all my worries about dancing and being a Harry from my mind.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** For those of you who don't know, a band mind is just a dirty mind. That's what we called it in high school. Ha. Good times. And if you can't figure out why that was dirty, then you're probably too young to know. Hehehe. I know, I'm terrible. _

_So...what's up with the unusual lack of reviews? I've only gotten two for chapter eight. They only count as one, though, because Kaylin reviewed twice. I'm assuming it has something to do with the new school year. _

_Hmm. Does anyone pay any attention to my author's page? I usually put notes up there when I know when I'm putting up a new chapter. I'm just curious. Speaking of which, if you do look there and saw the October 3rd date for this chapter, sorry. Earlier in the week, I thought of something I needed to add in, but then a million stupid things happened this week, and I didn't get a chance until Friday. I fixed it on Saturday. To be entirely honest, I don't have a good reason for not getting it up before Monday. I am ashamed. _

_I was extremely depressed two weekends ago. Still am, actually. While cleaning my room, my mother threw out my _Breaking Dawn _(the fourth and last in the _Twilight _series, for those who don't know) box. You know, the one that all the books show up in at the book store that say "embargoed" and "do not open until August 2, 2008"? I think the _Harry Potter _equivalent would be the boxes that _Deathly Hallows _came in. Yeah. I totally freaked out at her. _

_Review please!_


	10. Harry

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Ten

_Harry_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Vixen Hood gets lots of special virtual hugs and virtual Halloween candy, because she's had an especially horrible day. _

_Three happy things! Happy First Birthday to Part III, Happy Harry Potter Day, and Happy Halloween! WOO! _

_I saw a giant prairie chicken in Rothsay, Minnesota, on my way home from school. It was awesome. And I saw a rubber chicken in the back window of a car as I was walking back to my dorm from my Badminton class. Yeah. So cool. _

_Tell me your costumes! I want to know! _

_Yay book seven! This chapter coincides with chapter four of _Deathly Hallows_, which you might have figured out from the content of the last chapter. Yeah. This chapter actually has a cliffhanger. How cool is that? Not cool for you, of course, because I don't know when I'll be done with chapter eleven. It's almost done though. _

_Enough of my rambling. Go on and read! _

Vixen Hood: _(Chapter Eight) It wasn't that long, was it? _

wendystwin: _Ivy has a band mind that chooses strange times to present itself. Hehehe. Besides, I wrote George's line first, and then my mind went there. So I wrote it. So there. _

romancejunkie: _Hahaha. I'm going to try and bribe the cashiers at Borders for a _Tales of Beedle the Bard _box. That would make me feel slightly better. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If I did, Fred, Mad-Eye, Remus, Tonks, Hedwig, Colin, and Dobby would not have died. And Snape too, I suppose, since he turned out to be good. Yeah, there's a list that's been pinned to my wall since I finished the book. Kaylin never looks there. Strange. Although, now that she's read this bit, she might. But it won't look any different than when she first looked at it and shook her head at me in a way that implied that she thought I was crazy. Except I rewrote it on Peter Rabbit stationary. ANYWAY, there's also a reference to _Tiny Toons _in here. Not that hard to find. _

* * *

The night was clear and warm as four brooms, two thestrals, and a flying motorcycle approached Privet Drive. We would've been quite a sight if it hadn't been for the Disillusionment Charms concealing us. Hagrid, on Sirius's flying motorcycle, was in the lead, and we followed the sound of the roaring bike.

I shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable against George's back. We'd been flying for almost two hours, and my rear was getting numb. My eyes were hurting because of the rushing wind blowing in my face. At least the sun had finally set. I turned my face to the side.

I felt George's hand cover my right that was resting on his waist. "Doing all right, love?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just tired of sitting on this broom," I told him.

"Shouldn't be much longer," he said. I knew he'd made this trip years before, in a flying Ford Anglia.

Then there was a deafening roar from the motorcycle, and Hagrid shouted, "Down this way!"

George followed the barely-visible shimmer that was Hagrid and the motorcycle, down towards the neat little houses of what I assumed was Privet Drive. We landed in the backyard. There were a couple trees, some hedges and flower beds, a bench, a small greenhouse, and the grass was perfectly trimmed. It definitely looked like the Dursleys lived there.

I hopped off the back of the broom and removed my Disillusionment Charm. I ran my hand over my hair, smoothing back the hair that had come loose from my ponytail. George appeared beside me, grinning and running his fingers through his own wind-blown hair. The others were popping into view around us as they removed their Charms as well. The back door opened suddenly, and Harry ran out. Hermione reached him first and threw her arms around him. Ron slapped him on the back, and Hagrid called out, "All righ', Harry? Ready fer the off?"

"Definitely," Harry said, grinning. "But I wasn't expecting this many of you!"

"Change of plans," Mad-Eye said. "Let's get undercover before we talk you through it."

Harry led us into the house, all of us laughing and talking. The kitchen was scrupulously clean, and I fleetingly imagined Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia, scrubbing down the counter. I smiled to myself as I jumped up to sit on the counter by the sink with Fred and George.

"Kingsley," Harry called, "I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?"

"He can get along without me for one night. You're more important."

"Harry, guess what?" Tonks said from the washing machine. She showed him her left hand, her wedding ring sparkling.

Harry's eyes widened. "You got married?" he exclaimed, turning to Remus.

"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry," he said, "it was very quiet."

"That's brilliant, congrat – "

"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later!" Mad-Eye shouted over the noise, and the kitchen fell silent. He dropped the two sacks he was carrying and turned to Harry. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely.

"Second problem: You're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."

Harry frowned. "I don't – "

"The Trace, the Trace!" said Mad-Eye impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters.

"We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short: Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to use the only means of transportation left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't speak.

"Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or" – Mad-Eye gestured around the kitchen – "you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again, correct?" Harry nodded. "So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen.

"The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: They think you're not leaving until the thirtieth. However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't just rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case. So, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order: my house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's – you get the idea."

"Yeah," Harry said.

"You'll be going to Tonks's parents'. Once you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their house, you'll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow. Any questions?"

"Er – yes," Harry said. "Maybe they won't know which of the twelve secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once" – he looked around, obviously counting the lot of us – "fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents'?"

"Ah, I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parents'. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house." Mad-Eye pulled the flask of Polyjuice Potion from within his cloak, and Harry completely understood.

"No!" he said loudly. "No way!"

"I told them you'd take it like this," Hermione said.

"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives – !"

" – because it's the first time for all of us," said Ron.

"This is different, pretending to be me – "

"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever." I tried to hide a smirk, but Harry clearly didn't think it was funny.

"You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair."

"Well, that's that plan scuppered," George said. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."

"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," said Fred. I giggled.

"Funny," Harry said sarcastically, "really amusing."

"If it has to come to force, it will," Mad-Eye growled. "Everyone here's overage, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk."

I nodded. "That's right," I spoke up.

"Let's have no more arguments," Mad-Eye said. "Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now."

"But this is mad, there's no need – "

"No need!" Mad-Eye snapped. "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we're lucky he'll have swallowed the fake bait and he'll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he'll be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping and eye out, it's what I'd do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother's charm holds, but it's about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself into seven."

I blinked, slightly surprised. I saw Harry and Hermione look at each other for a split second. I knew we were all thinking of the horcruxes.

"So, Potter – some of your hair, if you please." Harry glanced at Ron, who made a face. "Now!" As we all watched, Harry reached up and pulled a bit of hair off the top of his head. "Good," Mad-Eye said, stumping forward and holding out the uncorked flask. "Straight in here, if you please."

Harry dropped the hair into the potion, and it immediately began to froth and hiss, then finally turned a bright gold. "Cool," I muttered to myself.

"Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry," Hermione said. I covered a laugh, and George elbowed me, grinning. Hermione was blushing. "Oh, you know what I mean – Goyle's potion looked like bogies."

"Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please," Mad-Eye ordered.

I hopped off the counter and stood in front of the sink between George and Fleur. I pulled the hair binder from my hair and shook it out, since Harry's hair was cut too short to tie back. Mad-Eye was handing out glasses the size of shot glasses to each of us, then poured each of us a bit of Harry's golden Polyjuice Potion. Once we all had some potion, Mad-Eye stood back.

"Altogether, then..."

All at once, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and I tipped our glasses back and drank. For some reason, it tasted like raspberries.

Instantly, my insides started wriggling and I grabbed the counter behind me to stay standing. A burning feeling spread over me, followed by the horrible melting feeling Rowling described in book two. I looked at my arm and saw my skin bubbling, changing. I tried to fight off the urge to puke. I could feel myself getting a bit taller, and I watched as my hair turned jet black and shrank back into my head to mimic Harry's short cut. Almost as soon as it started, it stopped, and I straightened, breathing hard.

Immediately, Fred and George turned to each other and said together, "Wow – we're identical!"

I laughed. Fred grabbed the kettle and examined his reflection. "I dunno, though, I think I'm still better-looking."

"You two are more identical than you – Oh my God, FREAKY!" I had Harry's voice! "This is so cool! Pip pip, cheerio! Bollocks, shagging, knickers!" George was watching me with amusement, and Fred was shaking his head as though thoroughly embarrassed by my behavior.

"Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I've got smaller here," said Mad-Eye, pointing at one of the sacks, "and visa versa. Don't forget the glasses, there's six pairs in the side pocket. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack." I hurried forward to get some clothes – Harry wouldn't appreciate being seen in a girl's tank top.

The real Harry, however, was watching the six new Harrys with something akin to horror as we began to strip down and put on the clothes Mad-Eye had provided. I chose a blue button-up shirt and jeans. I left on my skater shoes, since Harry surprisingly wore the same size shoe as I did. I wondered briefly if skater shoes had any popularity in the 90s, but I didn't know. The only shoe that I associated with the 90s was red high tops. Whatever.

Once the Harrys had changed (and Ron had commented on Harry's lack of a tattoo, and Hermione on Harry's terrible eyesight), we grabbed backpacks and owl cages containing stuffed snowy owls. I tucked my hair binder into the pocket of my jeans.

"Good," Mad-Eye said finally, surveying the Harrys. "The pairs will be as follows: Ivy will be traveling with me, by broom – "

"Righty-o," I said, nodding.

"Arthur and Fred – " he continued, pointing at Fred, but Fred interrupted.

"I'm George," said Fred. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"

"Sorry, George – "

"I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really – "

"Enough messing around!" Mad-Eye snarled, and I tried not to giggle. "The other one – George or Fred or whoever you are – you're with Remus. Miss Delacour – "

"I'm taking Fleur on a Thestral," said Bill. "She's not that fond of brooms."

Fleur moved to stand with Bill, looking at him so adoringly that I felt sorry for Harry.

"Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral – "

Hermione smiled at Kingsley.

"Which leaves you with me, Ron!" said Tonks happily as she knocked over a tree of mugs waving at him. Ron didn't look quite as happy as she did.

"An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" Hagrid looked nervous. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' thestrals can't take me weight, see? Not a lot o' room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar."

"That's great," said Harry.

"We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," said Moody. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we run into any Death Eaters, we're betting they'll choose one of the Potters who look at home on a broomstick. All right then," he said, tying shut the bag with the clothes in it and heading out the back door. "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking... Come on..."

Harry went to get his things while the rest of us went out into the backyard. "This is brilliant," I said to the twins. "It's like a Harry Potter convention!" I laughed, but I was the only one who did. Fred and George clearly didn't think it was funny, though George gave me a slightly awkward smile. I sighed, suddenly missing all my fellow _Harry Potter_ fans. "Kailee would have laughed," I complained.

George patted my shoulder. "It was kind of funny."

"Not really," said Fred.

"Hurry up, you three!" Moody called.

Fred gave us both a smile and clapped George on the shoulder before heading over to Mr. Weasley. I grabbed George's hand. "I'd kiss you, but I don't want to traumatize poor Harry."

He laughed. "You'll have to owe me one later, then."

I smiled. "It's a deal. I love you."

"I love you too."

I squeezed his hand briefly, before forcing myself to let go and join Mad-Eye.

"All right, then," Moody said, while I double checked that both my mother's locket and the necklace from George were safely under my shirt, and that my wand was easily reachable in my pocket. "Everyone ready, please; I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion's lost."

I climbed on the broom behind Mad-Eye, placing my hands self-consciously on his waist. I locked gazes with George, who was watching me worriedly from behind Remus. I tried to tell myself that everything would be fine, and that we'd see each other again in an hour at the Burrow, but I couldn't keep my stomach from churning nervously.

An enormous roar shocked me out of my thoughts. Hagrid had started the motorcycle.

"Good luck everyone," Mad-Eye shouted. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three. One...two...THREE."

Mad-Eye kicked off, and we shot into the air. The motorcycle roared again as it rose. I closed my eyes with a small smile, enjoying the feeling of flying again, even though I wasn't in control. I hadn't been on a broom in months, my Starbolt packed away in my closet.

Suddenly, someone screamed, and my eyes snapped open in time to see green light. Mad-Eye took a sharp dive, and I shrieked in alarm as I nearly lost my hold on Mad-Eye. The stuffed owl's cage slipped from my fingers, and even though I knew it wasn't really Hedwig, I had to pretend like it was, and I had to act like Harry.

"No!" I shouted. "Hedwig! I dropped her, Professor!" I fumbled for my wand, wrapping my free arm around Mad-Eye's waist more securely.

"Forget it, Potter!" was all he said. He would.

I finally got my wand out of my pocket and spun around. There were three Death Eaters behind us. "_Stupefy_!" I shouted. I hit one, and he plummeted like a rock. I tried not to think what would happen when he hit the ground. I aimed at one of the others, but before I could cast anything, a spell hit my hand and my wand disappeared. Needless to say, I panicked.

"Shit! _We're tiny, we're toony, we're all a little loony, and in this cartoony, we're_ – " I stopped when I felt my wand in my hand and gripped it tightly.

"What was that, Potter?" Mad-Eye growled.

"Later, sir!" I replied. I greatly hoped that Death Eaters didn't watch American Muggle cartoons in their free time. That was the last thought I had time for before Lord Voldemort materialized directly in front of us.

I stared, horrified. It was the first time I'd seen him, but there was no mistaking him. His cat-like scarlet eyes stood out shockingly against his chalk-white skin. His nose was flat and serpentine, and his fingers were long and spidery. He was flying, but there was no broom beneath him, and he wasn't positioned like he was riding a thestral. He was flying, just like the Death Eaters in the _Order of the Phoenix_ film. His face was triumphant as his wand swung around to point at us –

My heart leapt into my throat. "Mad-Eye – !"

"I see him, I see him! Hold – "

There was a flash of green light, and everything next seemed to happen in slow motion. I lost my grip on Mad-Eye as the broom seemed to disappear from beneath us. I kept a tight hold on my wand as I groped desperately for the broom with my free hand, but found nothing. I saw Mad-Eye a few feet away, but he didn't call out or say anything.

Then suddenly I was falling, and fast. Either Voldemort would kill me, or I would die when I hit the ground. I saw Voldemort diving after me, faster than I was falling, his wand moving to aim at me. Knowing I wouldn't be able to take Voldemort even if I was fully-trained, I did the only thing I could think of.

As best as I could in midair, I twisted around and Disapparated.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** OMG! Will she survive?! Hehehe. Was that Harry Potter convention joke actually funny, or is that just me being weird? I hope so, because I liked it. _

_I'm very much looking forward to chapter thirteen. After chapter fourteen, plans are kind of fuzzy, so you can expect big delays after that. That sounds like a traffic report. Hahaha. _

_Okay, I'm having trouble with chapter fifteen and need suggestions. I don't know what Ivy should get Harry for his birthday. I want it to be useful for him on the horcrux quest, but not so extremely helpful that it leads Harry to a horcrux. Subtlety helpful. I was thinking about something along the lines of a food supply, but I can't figure out how to get around the food exception to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. I don't want it to be a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product, because that's what the twins gave him. I don't know. I'm bad at giving gifts, both in real life and in fiction. Kaylin suggested porn, but that's extremely ridiculous. It _is _a children's book. So if you have any suggestions, let me know in a review. Credit will of course be given if I use your suggestion. _

_Moving completely off-topic (seriously), any _House _fans out there? Did anyone totally laugh when Wilson threw the bottle through the stained glass window on the October 14th episode? Hehehe. That was awesome. _


	11. Saintlike

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Eleven

_Saintlike_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ I'm gonna have to start off by saying that I am EXTREMELY sorry. I was aiming for New Year's Eve, but then my grandparents had a small internet problem, and I couldn't get it out. Then I find out I'm on academic probation, which means if I don't get my grades up, I get suspended for a semester. And getting suspended won't matter anyway, because my parents will just pull me out of school (college, remember, and they're paying for it). So I was depressed. Then I got sick and spent the last week of winter break laying on the couch watching the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. So, y'know, lack of motivation. Sorry. _

wendystwin: _OH MY GOD! I totally have a better Christmas present for you. Read carefully, Kaylin. Not that your present is in here. Well, sort of. SIGH. I'm going to write something for you that has to do with this chapter. I know you'll like it. So there. _

x-Ice-Queen-x: _Ha. I heart Tiny Toons. And thank you! _

FailedWriter: _Was the cliffhanger really that great? Compared to the one I have coming up, that was nothing. Hehehe. _

marauder no. five: _I think the Death Eaters watching Privet Drive would have thought six cabs leaving Little Whinging a little suspicious. They could have left one at a time, I suppose. But that would be boring, cause that's what we Muggles would do. Generally speaking, I think most readers would want to know what wizards would do. Yeah... _

clhpfan12341234567: _Thanks for the review! _

Rushingriver: _George is the one who loses his ear, remember? But I'm not telling. _

delly: _Hope you're still alive. LOL. Anyway, if you thought that was the best cliffhanger, you won't be happy to know there's better ones coming. (evil laugh) _

FoxyGirl0413: _Glad you're liking it. As I said to FailedWriter and delly, that cliffhanger was nothing. _

Fyre of the Funeral Pyre: _The thing about flashlights is that batteries run down. And I'm sure _Lumos _works a lot better. Oh! I just had a really good idea! And no, I'm not telling. _

danidropdead: _Mmm...I love brownies! And as I said to FailedWriter, delly, and FoxyGirl0413, the end of chapter ten was nothing. Hehehe. _

GredForge425: _I love James and Oliver, and Fred and George, equally. I don't like playing favorites. LOL._

* * *

I appeared just outside the protective charms of the Burrow, two feet in the air. My feet slammed into the ground, and I screamed in shock and pain as I heard a snap. My right leg gave out and I collapsed.

I lay there for a second, then picked myself up slightly, pushing the Harry glasses up the bridge of my nose. Or his nose. Whatever. I looked at my leg and cringed. Even though I'd never been conscious for a broken bone, I could tell it was broken.

"Oh shit," I muttered, trying not to look at my leg. Afraid to walk on it, I muttered a few other good swears under my breath. I was considering shouting for Mrs. Weasley when I heard the Burrow's back door open. I saw Mrs. Weasley dashing across the yard, Ginny close behind her. "I'm Ivy!" I called as they drew closer. I looked at Ginny as I pulled my mother's locket from under my shirt. She had seen it a number of times. "The first night I spent here last Christmas, you and I pretended to be asleep so we wouldn't have to talk to Fleur."

"That's right, Mum," Ginny said as she and her mother dropped down beside me.

Mrs. Weasley gave her daughter a reproachful look before looking over my leg. "Definitely broken," she said. "Help me get her inside, Ginny. _Ferula_." I watched as a splint and bandages appeared, the bandages snaking up my leg to hold the splint in place. "What happened? Why aren't you with Alastor?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she and Ginny helped me stand.

At the mention of Mad-Eye, I remembered the flash of green light. I bit my lip. "Death Eaters," I said. "Surrounded us right after we took off. They _knew_ we were moving Harry tonight. Voldemort was there too, flying, without a broom, and he went straight for us. And – and he killed Mad-Eye," here Ginny gasped, but I plowed on, "and I fell off the boom and Apparated here." I suddenly realized I was crying, and pushed the Harry glasses out of the way so I could wipe at my eyes.

There was a pause. "Well, let's get you inside, dear," Mrs. Weasley said quietly. I could tell she was trying not to cry. They helped me into the house and onto the armchair in the living room. My leg was propped on a conjured footstool. I winced slightly. "Ginny, put some tea on," she said as she quickly removed the splint. Ginny hurried off in the direction of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley examined my leg again. "I'm certain it's a clean break and I can heal it in a moment, but it won't be painless."

I nodded in understanding as she pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell. It was moderately painful, but I focused more on the fact that I could _feel_ my bone knitting back together, which was incredibly strange. It ended just as Ginny returned with a mug of tea. I drank some and nearly gagged; I'd forgotten I didn't like tea.

Mrs. Weasley saw. "Do you feel all right, dear?" she asked. "I know that spell makes Charlie nauseous – "

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry, I should have said something – I don't like tea." I handed the mug back to Ginny sheepishly.

"That's all right," said Mrs. Weasley. "How about some milk, then?"

"You don't have to – "

She smiled warmly. "Don't be silly, I'll get you some." She stood. "And don't put any weight on that leg for an hour or so."

Ginny looked at me as her mother left the room. "Are you all right?"

I nodded, looking down at my hands, which were shaking slightly. "Physically, yes," I sighed.

"I – I don't suppose you saw if any of the others...?"

I shook my head, thinking of George with a jolt of fear. "I really wish I knew, Ginny."

Ginny brought down Ron's wizard chess set in an attempt to lighten the mood and pass the time, which worked wonderfully. In ten minutes we were laughing at my abysmal chess skills. I didn't know the labels of the squares, and since Ron's board wasn't labeled, I kept telling my pieces to go places they couldn't go. So then they would yell at me and shake their little fists, which was actually slightly adorable. Mrs. Weasley sat by the window knitting. Most of the time, she watched Ginny and I playing chess, but as more time passed, she looked out the window more often.

I kept touching my sunstone necklace nervously. It had turned blue to match my shirt. I was terrified for everyone, especially George, but I couldn't get Mad-Eye off my mind. That horrible green light...

"Checkmate," Ginny said for the third time. My pieces threw their arms up in annoyance.

I sighed and leaned back in the armchair. "I bet you play with Ron a lot, don't you?"

She laughed, nodding. "That's a pretty necklace," she said suddenly, pointing.

I looked down. She was pointing at the sunstone necklace, which I was touching again. "George gave it to me," I told her, smiling slightly.

"Did he really?"

I nodded. "He charmed it to match whatever I'm wearing."

"That's so cool," she said, touching it gently. She sat back, sighing. "Want another game?"

I shrugged. "Why not?"

We played two more games, and halfway through the second, my body changed back into my own. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley both watched me as I took off the Harry glasses and put them aside, then pulled a hair elastic out of my pocket and tied my hair back. The hour was up, which meant the Portkeys would be arriving any moment. Ron and Tonks should be first. I tried not to think about more than that.

Ginny and I watched Mrs. Weasley, who was staring intently out the window. Even the chess pieces seemed to sense the tension; they weren't yelling at us to keep playing. Suddenly she gave a little gasp, and we hurried over to her. There was a tiny blue light out in the yard. Then it went out, and Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh," she whispered, "they've missed it."

"They're fine," I said confidently. I was sure of it. Rowling couldn't be so cruel as to kill Tonks just days after she married Remus. And Ron – she couldn't have Harry go horcrux hunting without both Ron and Hermione.

The three of us continued watching, and a few moments later, the blue light appeared again. It would be Mr. Weasley and Fred. We all held our breath – and then the light went out like the first, and Mrs. Weasley gave a sort of gasping sob. Ginny touched her shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine, Mum."

"They – they probably just got held up," I said. "The Death Eaters, y'know..." I wasn't as sure this time. Mr. Weasley had a reprieve in book five, and Fred... I stopped myself, refusing to consider the possibility.

Mrs. Weasley looked at both of us, and then nodded, wiping at her face.

We turned back to the window. Harry and Hagrid would be next. Seconds later, a blue light appeared, but instead of just going out, it grew bigger and brighter. Then two figures appeared, spinning.

Ginny and I both darted for the door, Mrs. Weasley right behind us. We ran down the back steps just as Harry and Hagrid collapsed on the ground. Ginny shouted Harry's name in relief as he stood unsteadily and threw aside a hairbrush.

I reached Harry first and flung my arms around him in relief, nearly knocking us both over. I knew he'd be all right, but I was still so relieved to see him in one piece.

He hugged me awkwardly as Mrs. Weasley cried, "Harry? You are the real Harry? Where are the others?"

I let go of him and hugged Hagrid too; he squeezed me so hard I could barely breathe.

"What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?"

Mrs. Weasley didn't answer. I bit my lip as Hagrid let go of me. I didn't want to be the one to tell him that Mad-Eye was dead.

"The Death Eaters were waiting for us," said Harry. There was a sort of pleading note in his voice. "We were surrounded the moment we took off – they knew it was tonight – I don't know what happened to anyone else, four of them chased us, it was all we could do to get away, and then Voldemort caught up with us – "

Mrs. Weasley hugged him tightly. "Thank goodness you're all right," she said.

"Haven't go' any brandy, have yeh, Molly?" Hagrid asked. "Fer medicinal purposes?"

She nodded as she let go of Harry, and then hurried off back to the house. Harry turned to Ginny and I.

"Ron and Tonks should have been back first," said Ginny, pointing at a rusty oil can, "but they missed their Portkey, it came back without them. And that one," she pointed at an old shoe, "should have been Dad and Fred's, they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third, and if they made it, George and Lupin should be back in about a minute."

Harry looked at me. "If you're here, shouldn't Mad-Eye be here too?"

I hesitated. Mrs. Weasley had returned with the brandy for Hagrid. "Well...Voldemort came after us first. I fell off the broom and Apparated – "

"Mum!" Ginny shouted suddenly, pointing. I spun around, and my heart leapt as the new blue light grew and brightened. Then George and Remus appeared, spinning and falling like Harry and Hagrid had. I started forward, but then I halted in my tracks when I saw that George's face was covered with blood. Something cold and horrible squeezed at my heart.

_No, no, no!_

Harry ran past me and grabbed George's legs. He and Remus headed for the house. I ran after them, sick with fear, wondering what had happened to him.

Head wounds always looked worse than they really were, right? Once when I was seven, I went ice skating with who was then my best friend, Raven, and she fell and hit her head on the ice, but she just got right back up and didn't even know she was bleeding. It was scary as hell for me, being only seven and seeing so much blood on another seven-year-old's face, but she was fine. She went to the doctor, got stitches, and she was fine. And then she moved away when I was eleven.

But George wasn't sitting up and assuring everyone that he was just fine. He was unconscious, and there was so much more blood than there had been on Raven.

Inside, Harry and Remus put him on the couch, and as the light fell on him, I saw where the blood was coming from: he was missing an ear.

My heart leapt up into my throat as I moved around to the back of the couch, making sure to stay out of Mrs. Weasley's way as she knelt beside her son's head and began tending to him. I didn't know anything about blood loss, how much you had to lose before you lost consciousness, and how much more before –

I stopped myself quickly, not allowing myself to think it. I clutched both my locket and my sun pendant in one hand, the other gripping the back of the couch tightly. Remus dragged Harry into the kitchen, but I barely noticed. My leg, despite being well-repaired by Mrs. Weasley, was still a bit sore. Though I knew I should probably sit down, I couldn't bring myself to take my eyes from George's still form. I could see his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, and I took a bit of relief in that. He was going to live, I wasn't going to lose him. I wanted to touch his cheek, run my fingers through his hair, hold him close and feel his heart beat. I wanted to marry him –

I started to cry then, because it was something I'd never considered before, and it was the absolute worst time to have such an epiphany. What if he had died? Would I still have the same thought, kneeling over his body? What would have happened the next day? Would I have given up? Would I have left the Wizarding world, back to the Rowling Dimension to try to go back to thinking that _Harry Potter_ was just a story? Would I really have done that? Would I have spent the rest of my life alone? Would I always wish that he had lived, that we had gotten married and had lots of little red-headed kids?

"How is he?"

Pulled from my thoughts, I glanced up at Harry, who I hadn't noticed had returned from the kitchen, then back at George. There was now just a dark hole where his ear had been. I wiped at my eyes and sniffed, still crying.

Mrs. Weasley looked around at everyone, then said quietly, "I can't make it grow back, not when it's been removed by Dark Magic. But it could have been so much worse....He's alive."

I looked down at George. I wanted him to wake up so badly.

"Thank God," Harry was saying.

"Did I hear someone else in the yard?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione and Kingsley."

"Thank goodness."

It was then that I realized Fred still wasn't back with Mr. Weasley. My grip on the back of the couch tightened. They would be all right. They _had_ to be all –

_CRASH_.

"I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!"

Part of me wanted to laugh at Mr. Weasley's outburst, but I really started sobbing at the sight of Fred following his father into the room, both of them pale but in one piece.

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley was crying. "Oh thank goodness!"

"Fred!" He came around the couch to stand beside me, and I hugged him tightly, trying to control my relieved crying. He hugged me back, but didn't say a word, staring down at his brother in shock.

Mrs. Weasley suddenly gave a little gasp. "How do you feel, Georgie?"

I pulled away from Fred and looked down at George, who was feeling for the side of his head. I wiped at my eyes, waiting anxiously for him to speak.

"Saintlike," George murmured.

Fear erupted inside me again. I didn't understand. "What?" I whispered, fighting the urge to burst into frightened tears.

"What's wrong with him?" I looked up at Fred, who looked terrified. "Is his mind affected?"

"Saintlike," George said again, opening his eyes and looking up at his twin. "You see...I'm holy. _Holey_, Fred, geddit?"

Mrs. Weasley cried even harder. I couldn't help it; I cracked up, sagging sideways into Fred. "Pathetic!" Fred told George, looking a lot less pale as he grasped my shoulder to keep me standing. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for _holey_?"

"Ah, well," George grinned at his still-sobbing mother, "you'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum." He spotted Harry. "Hi Harry – you are Harry, right?"

Harry moved closer to the couch. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, at least we got you back okay. Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled round my sickbed?"

"They're not back yet, George," said Mrs. Weasley. George stopped smiling. A short silence followed this, during which Harry and Ginny went outside again, leaving me with Fred, George, and their parents.

George suddenly seemed to catch sight of me. "Are you all right, Ivy?" he asked, pushing himself up on his elbows.

I smiled slightly as Mrs. Weasley pushed him back down. "I'm fine, just a broken leg. Your mom fixed me up."

"How did you break your leg?"

I swallowed and tried not to think about Mad-Eye. "I fell off the broom and Apparated here," I said shortly. "It broke when I landed."

Fred was frowning. "But where's – ?"

Ginny suddenly burst in from the kitchen, and we all jumped. "Mum, Dad, Ron and Tonks are back!"

"Are they all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked urgently.

"Yeah."

She glanced at the door. "Go on, Mum, I'm fine," George said. She nodded briefly, before hurrying out of the house with Ginny and Mr. Weasley. As soon as they were out of the room, George pushed himself up.

"George," I said worryingly as Fred and I came around to the front of the couch.

"Don't worry, love, I'm fine." He grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto the couch where his head had been. He laid down again, resting his head in my lap. I smiled at him slightly, touching his cheek.

"What happened with you and Dad?" Fred asked George.

"Well, a bunch of them chased us. Snape was one of them, he hit me with _Sectumsempra_."

The bottom seemed to drop out of my stomach as George touched the side of his head gingerly. "_Snape_?" I repeated incredulously.

George nodded, looking up at me. "I blacked out after that."

"Snape's a fucking bastard," I said angrily. George squeezed my hand in an unsuccessful attempt at comfort, and I had the sudden urge to throw something. He had killed Dumbledore, and now he had nearly killed George. How could anyone possibly think that he was on the Light side?

"So where's Mad-Eye?" Fred asked me, probably in an attempt to break the tense silence.

"Yeah," said George, "I'd like to give him an earful about letting you fall off the broom."

George was grinning, and Fred was laughing. I knew he didn't mean anything by it, but my eyes still filled with tears and I looked away from them.

"Ivy?" George asked, touching my arm gently, and at the same time, I heard a number of people enter the living room. I didn't look up.

"What's wrong?" I heard Fred ask. "What's happened? Who's – ?"

There was a pause, before Mr. Weasley spoke. "Mad-Eye." I flinched. "Dead."

I could feel many eyes on me. George grabbed my hand and held it tightly, but I didn't look at him. No one said anything for a long time. Tonks was crying – she had been close to Mad-Eye, I knew. Hagrid was sitting in a corner where he had room, and was wiping at his eyes with his large handkerchief. Eventually, Bill began filling fourteen glasses with firewhisky. "Here," he said, then sent one to everyone in the room with a wave of his wand. I caught two and handed one to George, who propped himself up on his elbows. Bill held up his own glass. "Mad-Eye."

"Mad-Eye," we all repeated, Hagrid a little late, and drank. It burned my throat, but I didn't really notice. I hardly cared. How could I care about something so trivial as the consequences of drinking alcohol when Mad-Eye was dead?

There was another long silence. George drank only a little more of his firewhisky, then put the glass down on the floor and laid back on my lap. He held my hand gently at his chest, while my left hand gently played with his hair. I knew he was watching me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I stared at the wall, trying desperately not to think of Voldemort aiming his wand at Mad-Eye, the flash of green light, the sensation of falling...

"So," said Remus suddenly, shocking me out of my thoughts, "how did they know?" I noticed his firewhisky was already gone.

Everyone was quiet, thinking. How _did_ they know? They couldn't have simply guessed at the date. Someone had to have told, or at least let slip the date. I looked around the room.

"Maybe..." I began quietly, and everyone looked at me. Normally, I might have blushed, but I didn't seem to have the energy. "Um...Mundungus..." It made some sense, but at the same time, it didn't, somehow.

"I know what you're thinking," said Bill, thankfully drawing attention from me, "and I wondered that too, on the way back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skullduggery. Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point?"

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," said Tonks, sniffing. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect the real Harry to be with toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and once he'd – he'd – " She seemed unable to say it, and I looked away from her. " – and Ivy Disapparated, he switched to Kingsley..."

"Yes, and zat eez all very good," Fleur said angrily, "but still eet does not explain 'ow zey knew we were moving 'Arry tonight, does eet? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan."

More silence. Fleur glared around at everyone. Hagrid was still hiccuping.

"No," said Harry suddenly. We all looked at him. "I mean...if somebody made a mistake, and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort."

I bit my lip as I stared at Harry. I understood what he was saying, but I couldn't help thinking of Snape, and how Dumbledore had ended up dying for his trust in him.

"Well said, Harry," said Fred, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, 'ear, 'ear," added George, glancing at Fred. I looked down at George, smiling. My fingers left his hair and stroked his cheek gently. He looked up at me, and when he saw I was smiling, grinned widely.

"You think I'm a fool?"

I looked up. Harry was staring at Remus, who was looking at him pityingly. "No, I think you're like James," he said, "who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."

I knew what Remus was alluding to. Peter Pettigrew, a former Marauder, who had betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort. Harry looked angry, but before he could say anything more, Remus spoke to Bill.

"There's work to do. I can ask Kingsley whether – "

"No," said Bill immediately, "I'll do it, I'll come."

"Where are you going?" said Tonks and Fleur together.

"Mad-Eye's body," said Remus. "We need to recover it."

I cringed, and George squeezed my hand.

"Can't it – ?" Mrs. Weasley began.

"Wait?" finished Bill. "Not unless you'd rather the Death Eaters took it?"

No one spoke. Once Remus and Bill were gone, everyone else sat down, except Harry.

"I've got to go too," he said.

We all looked at him in surprise. "Don't be silly, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't stay here." He rubbed at his scar. "You're all in danger while I'm here. I don't want – "

"But don't be so silly! The whole point of tonight was to get you here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur's agreed to get married here rather than in France, we've arranged everything so we can all stay together and look after you – "

"If Voldemort finds out I'm here – "

"But why should he?"

"There are a dozen places you might be right now, Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "He's got no way of knowing which safe house you're in."

"It's not me I'm worried for!"

"We know that," said Mr. Weasley, "but it would make our efforts seem rather pointless if you left."

"Yer not goin' anywhere," said Hagrid. "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen' through ter get you here?"

"Yeah, what about my bleeding ear?" George demanded suddenly, dropping my hand and pushing himself up.

"I know that – " Harry began.

"Mad-Eye wouldn't want – "

"I KNOW!" Harry shouted finally, and everyone fell silent.

I pushed George back down onto my lap and continued touching his hair. Harry didn't want to put the rest of us in danger by staying. I could understand that. Not that I wanted him to leave so soon, but wouldn't it be better to wait for his Trace to break before setting off to look for horcruxes?

"Where's Hedwig, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said finally. "We can put her up with Pigwidgeon and give her something to eat."

Harry didn't answer, instead finishing off his firewhisky. I suddenly realized Harry didn't have Hedwig with him when he and Hagrid returned from the Tonks'. She hadn't made it either. I tried to fight the lump that rose in my throat.

"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry," said Hagrid. "Escaped him, fought him off when he was right on top of yeh!"

"It wasn't me," said Harry. "It was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord."

There was a short pause. "But that's impossible, Harry," Hermione said gently. "You mean that you did magic without meaning to; you reacted instinctively."

"No," Harry said. "The bike was falling, I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before."

"Often, when you're in a pressured situation you can produce magic you never dreamed of. Small children often find, before they're trained – "

"It wasn't like that," Harry insisted angrily, interrupting Mr. Weasley.

No one said anything for a while. "Need some fresh air," Harry muttered finally, then set down his glass and headed outside.

I watched him go thoughtfully. Gold flames didn't sound familiar at all. The closest thing I could think of were the bluebell flames Hermione was known for. As for Harry's wand casting spells on its own, that was strange. Wouldn't the Priori Incantatem thing have happened if Harry had tried to duel Voldemort? Of course, Voldemort wasn't stupid; he was bound to have foreseen that and had probably borrowed a Death Eater's wand.

George touched my arm as Hermione and Ron followed Harry outside. "Do you want me to take you home?" he asked.

I almost said yes, but then I thought of the two thestrals outside. I fought a shiver. I would be able to see them. I shook my head. "Your mom would never let you leave."

He smiled slightly. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"If it's all right with your mom."

He looked over at his mother. "Mum, can Ivy stay here tonight?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Of course, dear." She stood. "I'll set up a camp-bed for you in Ginny's room."

"Can't she stay with me?" he asked quickly as she headed for the stairs. Fred snickered quietly.

She gave him a stern look. "Of course not!"

"Oh, Mum, like we'd do anything with Fred on the other side of the room!"

My face turned red and Fred looked at him in in mock-alarm. "You bloody well better not!"

Molly looked torn as she studied George and I, and I was sure she'd say no and insist on me staying in Ginny's room. But I watched her face soften as she watched me playing with George's hair. She sighed. "All right. I'll put the camp-bed in Fred and George's room, and I expect you to use it!"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She headed upstairs. George looked back at me. "Do you need to get things from your place?"

I bit my lip. "Um...the thestrals..."

"I'll go," Fred offered immediately. George and I both looked at him in surprise. "What do you need?"

I looked at my watch. Kailee'd had a Healing class that night. "Kailee should be home from her class by now. She'll figure it out."

He nodded and left just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione came inside. They didn't stop in the living room and headed straight upstairs. They all looked rather tense. Ginny followed a few moments later. Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Fleur were talking quietly.

Mrs. Weasley reappeared. "The room is all ready for you. Do you need anything, Ivy, dear? I'm sure Ginny – "

I shook my head. "Fred went to get some stuff from my apartment."

She glanced out the window worriedly. "He'll be fine, Mum," George said.

"Well...don't stay up too late, George, you need rest."

"Yes, Mum." She bustled off into the kitchen. George sighed. "Let's go upstairs."

"All right." He sat up, and I stood, trying to ignore the fact that my leg had fallen asleep. George stood up as well, but then abruptly sat down again. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

He nodded. "Just a little dizzy."

"You lost a lot of blood," I said pointlessly.

"I'm fine, love." I offered him my hand, and he allowed me to pull him to his feet. He stumbled, but I slipped my arm around his waist and he leaned on me. I looked at him worriedly. "I'm fine," he repeated.

"Do you need help, George?" Mr. Weasley asked as we started for the stairs.

"No." We climbed the stairs to the third floor (what would have been the third floor in America) where the twins' bedroom was. While he insisted he was fine, he was gripping the railing rather tightly.

I'd only been in Fred and George's room a couple times before, at Christmas last year. It still smelled like gunpowder. The lamp on the little table between the beds had been left on by Mrs. Weasley. A number of boxes had been stacked near the window, and a cot had been set up perpendicular to the boys' beds. George immediately sat on the bed closest to the door.

I stood in front of him. "Are you really okay? Do you need, like, a – a Blood-Replenishing Potion, or – or – "

"Don't worry, darling," he said, laughing slightly. "It's not nearly that bad. Now," he pulled me closer so that I was standing between his legs, "I believe you owe me a kiss?"

I gave him a look. "George – "

"I'm _fine_, I promise. Would you rather I lay down?" He let go of me and did just that, stretching out on his bed with his arms behind his head. "Don't you know snogging is good for recovery?"

I smirked. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Have you ever heard a Healer say it wasn't?"

"No," I admitted, sitting next to his waist. "But you know all that blood that's supposed to going to your brain, carrying oxygen to keep you from getting dizzy?" I traced my fingers up his thigh slowly, and his eyes closed. I smirked.

He didn't open his eyes, but he smiled slightly. "I've never heard you say something like that. It's a little bizarre."

I snorted. "George, sweetie, I'm nineteen. I _do_ know about sex." He opened as he laughed shortly, raising an eyebrow in amusement. I felt my face flush. "Not – not that I've ever...y'know. But Muggles have sex education classes in school."

He adopted a very perplexed look. "Classes?"

I nodded. "Well, American Muggles, anyway. I dunno what British Muggles do."

"Dad just talked to each of us before we left for Hogwarts. Mum talked to Ginny, I think."

"My parents never gave me the sex talk. I don't know why. Probably 'cause I was getting it all at school."

He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine, looking at me pleadingly. "Just one kiss?"

I sighed and lay down beside him. "You better not pass out."

He laughed as he turned on his side to face me, his head propped up on his hand. "I'd certainly rather pass out kissing you."

"You would." His arm slid around my waist. "And how would I explain that to your mother?"

"Tell her I fell asleep." He pressed his lips to mine and deepened the kiss almost immediately. He pulled me closer and I tangled my fingers in his hair. His hand slid down to my hip, and I felt him pull my wand out of my pocket. A moment later, I heard the door close.

I pulled away to see him put my wand on the bedside table. "Don't your parents have a rule about leaving the door open when you have a girl in here?"

"Yeah," he said breathlessly, kissing my cheek, then moving down to my neck. "Did yours?"

"Yup. But they were never home when I had boys over."

He laughed quietly. "More than one?"

"A couple." He snickered again. I rolled my eyes. "_Not_ at the same time!"

"Well, darling, if the idea interests you, perhaps we could talk Kailee into – " He broke off suddenly, and I realized how heavily he was breathing, his face pressed into my shoulder.

"George." I pushed him away. He seemed like he was trying very hard to stay conscious. I sighed. "I told you."

"You did," he said, breathing deeply.

"And we're not having a threesome with Kailee. We could never talk her into it."

His eyes opened suddenly, and he stared at me in surprise. I held a straight face for about a second before I began laughing. He rolled his eyes, grinning. "You got my hopes up, love."

"Sorry." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I love you."

He touched my hair gently. "I love you too." He was quiet for a moment. "How does it look?"

"What?"

"My ear." I looked up at him. He looked worried. "Does it bother you?"

"Of course not. It's a sexy battle scar."

He laughed out loud. "You think so?"

I nodded. "You'll always look good to me, George. I love you." He grinned and kissed me.

The door opened suddenly. Reflexively, thinking it was Mrs. Weasley, I pulled away from George and tried to get off the bed as gracefully as possible. However, I stumbled and just barely caught myself on the edge of the bed.

It was Fred, carrying the book bag I'd used at Hogwarts in one hand. "Bloody hell," he complained, though he was grinning. "I can't leave you two alone for ten minutes."

Flustered, I straightened my clothes and scowled at Fred. "Weirdo," I muttered, unable to think of a better insult.

Fred and George both laughed. "Is that the best you can come up with?" Fred snickered.

"At the moment," I said shortly, snatching my bag from him and heading for the door. "I'm going to change."

The bathroom was empty, and I immediately set to changing. I was still wearing the Harry clothes. I didn't have the clothes I had been wearing earlier anymore – I immediately steered my thoughts away from that fact – and maybe I could give the clothes to Harry. The mirror, scaring me half to death, quickly began commenting on my pajamas (a t-shirt and pants with little yellow ducks on them).

"Shut up, or I'll introduce you to the Reductor Curse," I threatened, pulling out my wand.

"Well!" the mirror said, clearly offended, and fell silent.

I shoved the clothes into my book bag. Kailee had packed everything she thought I might need, including my shower things. However, I wasn't in the mood for a shower, no matter how much I needed one. And there was also the small issue I had with using unfamiliar showers. Not that Mrs. Weasley didn't keep the bathroom spotlessly clean, but I'd always had that problem. Strange showers simply made me squeamish.

Anyway, I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then I pulled the elastic from my hair and began brushing it out. I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering vaguely how the talking mirror worked. Were they like portraits, imprints of the person they depicted? Except, mirrors don't depict just one person. They reflect the image of whoever stands in front of them. So were they imprints of whoever was standing in front of it? Did I subconsciously hate my favorite pajamas?

There was a knock on the door. "Just a sec," I called. I pulled the brush through my hair once more and dropped it in my bag before opening the door. It was Harry. "Oh, hey." I opened my bag again. "I don't suppose you want these, do you?" I asked, pulling out the Harry clothes. "They'll do you more good than they will me."

"Um, sure." He took them. He stared down at the shirt, frowning. "Listen, about – "

"Hey, if you're going to apologize, don't. We knew the risks."

He nodded. "Yeah."

I patted his shoulder. "'Night, Harry."

He sighed as he headed into the bathroom. "Goodnight."

I went back to the twins' room. Fred and George had changed into pajamas and were sitting on George's bed, talking. George grinned at me as I dropped my bag next to the cot. "Hey, love," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me close to the bed.

"Kailee wants to discuss something with you tomorrow," Fred said as I sat beside George. "She wouldn't tell me what it is."

I shrugged, though I was sure I knew what Kailee wanted to talk about, especially if Fred had told her everything that had happened. "Okay."

The door opened and Mrs. Weasley came in. "It's very late," she said distractedly. "You should all be in bed." I kissed George's cheek and stood, going obediently to my cot.

"Mum – " Fred complained, but she interrupted him.

"Don't argue with me, Fred Weasley," she scolded. He rolled his eyes. "It's been a long night, we all need rest. Especially you, George."

George rolled his eyes, but didn't dare contradict his mother. "Yes, Mum." I settled myself amongst the blankets as Mrs. Weasley flicked her wand at the lamp and it went out. There was a chorus of "'Night, Mum," and "'Night, Mrs. Weasley."

She smiled. "Goodnight," she said, before closing the door quietly.

There was a short silence in the bedroom, during which I closed my eyes, ready to give in to the exhaustion that had overwhelmed me since George had woken up. Then I heard George call my name. "Hey, Ivy?"

"Yeah?" I whispered, opening my eyes again.

"Come over here."

I picked up my head. "Won't your mom come back?"

"Probably. We'll just have to make sure we're asleep by then."

I smiled slightly and got out of bed. "All right."

I crawled into his bed, and he pulled me close and kissed me. "I love you," he muttered.

"Love you, too."

"Ugh, you two are nauseating," said Fred.

I glanced at him, grinning. "If you're really jealous, Fred, I'm sure Kailee wouldn't mind coming over to snuggle with you." George laughed.

He sighed. "Oh, shut up."

I giggled. "Goodnight, Fred."

"'Night."

I closed my eyes and curled up closer to George, so glad he was there. If Snape's stupid spell had a slight change in angle, he probably wouldn't have survived. Just before I drifted off to sleep, I vowed that if I ever met Snape again, I would kill him.

* * *

_I was falling slowly through darkness, fear squeezing inexplicably at my heart. I landed lightly on my feet. It was dark, and there were no stars in the sky, no moon. George lay alone on the ground nearby, and I walked over to him. He didn't move, his beautiful blue eyes staring blankly at the starless sky. He wasn't breathing, and I stared down at him, not really comprehending what I was seeing. Oliver Phelps __appeared, holding a orange-covered book. He didn't look at me, but down at George, shaking his head sadly –_

I woke suddenly, gasping and staring up at the ceiling. The room was dark, save for the grey moonlight streaming through the window. Fred was asleep, as was George. Under the covers, his hand was resting on my hip, and his head was resting on my shoulder. I could feel the steady beat of his heart and his breath on my neck. The residual fear and adrenaline from my dream faded, replaced by relief. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it wouldn't go and I started to cry.

George stirred. "Ivy..." he mumbled. His hand slid up my side, pushing my pajama shirt up slightly. I took a few deep breaths in a fruitless attempt to calm myself, but he noticed and looked up at me.

"Ivy?" he asked worriedly, seeing my tears. He pushed himself up on his elbow and touched my cheek. "Love, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I avoided his eyes. "Just a dream," I whispered.

He laid down beside me, touching my hair gently. "A dream, hmm?" he said quietly. "A bad one, clearly." I still didn't look at him. "Want to tell me?"

I said nothing, and he sighed quietly, his arm sliding around my waist again. I hesitated. I could tell him. Leaving out Oliver, of course. I took a deep breath and wiped at my face. "You were dead," I said quickly.

He didn't say anything, but I felt him tense. I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. He pulled me closer and kissed my cheek. "Hey." I looked at him. "It'll never happen."

"It could."

"It won't."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be stupid, George."

"Are you implying something about my dueling ability?"

"You know I'm not. I'm serious."

"I know," he said earnestly. "I am too. It. Won't. Happen."

"Nobody thought Dumbledore was going to die," I reminded him. "Or my parents. Or Sirius. Or Mad-Eye – " I broke off as the lump in my throat suddenly returned. I swallowed and gently touched the place where his ear had been. "I didn't think you'd get hurt. You could have _died_."

He covered my hand with his. "I didn't."

"What would I have done if you did?"

He kissed me gently. "Don't think about that, love." His fingers traced my face. "Just go back to sleep."

I rolled over and settled against his chest. "I love you, George."

"I love you, Ivy."

He was asleep in a few minutes. I wasn't.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** So, yeah, Rushingriver. The Mundungus thing is the only thing I changed. If I could have changed George losing his ear, I would have, but there's no way Ivy could have changed it, and it needed to happen. As much as Ivy knows George (and Fred, for that matter) could die, this is the point where she realizes that she might have to watch him die. She's never seen death before this point, and it hits her kind of hard. She wasn't with her parents when they died, remember. She's figuring out that just knowing what happened from reading it is a lot different than actually seeing it happen. _

_Anyway, big question mark on when chapter twelve will go up. It's not done, and AUM is going extremely back-burner until summer vacation. Not exactly hiatus, as I'll be working on it every chance I get, but I need to be studying way more than I did before. So yeah._


	12. Mars

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Twelve

_Mars_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Well, despite my recent obsession with the animes _Vampire Knight_, _xxxHolic_, and _Inuyasha_, I managed to work on this. Anime is my muse right now. LOL. _

_After reading the reviews from EasyButton and SecretSnow (see below), I very nearly tried writing a one-shot with Scott reading _Deathly Hallows_. However, though I tried, there was no way to do it without revealing the end of Part III. So, yeah, sorry. I will write it, but it's not a priority until after AUM is finished. _

_April Fool's Day came up very suddenly for me. I didn't realize what day it was until three in the afternoon. I didn't even try to come up with an joke to play on you lot, not after last year. If I had been pay attention to the date, though, I would have tried to get this out by April Fool's Day, for Fred and George. _

_Anyway, this one's dedicated to the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster of April 15, 1989. You'll never walk alone. And yay for Liverpool being second in England's Barclays Premier League! Woot! (Go away, Man United!) _

wendystwin_: Reread it now... No, you can wait. But as soon as the semester's over, you reread it! Four and a half weeks left! Woot! _

DaniLionFace_: You changed your penname on me, and totally confused me when I was doing my final edit. Hehehe. Anyway, readers hunting me down is the reason I'm having an violent-reader-proof underground shelter built. My shelter-building elves are working on making it portable. LOL. And you said chapter eleven explained a lot to you. Were you confused? _

EasyButton _and _SecretSnow_: Thank you for your reviews. Saving Fred, Remus, and Tonks is all very well and good, but what about Colin? Poor little sixteen-year-old Colin Creevey who didn't even get a chance to finish school and probably would have had a very promising career as a photojournalist. SIGH. Anyway, I'm not telling you any changes I'm making to Rowling's storyline, and what I'm changing and what I'm not changing is already set in stone, so there's really no point in asking. _

Fyre of the Funeral Pyre_: Yours was my 60th review! Yay! And thanks for your review. _

Qweaiou_: Pretty frickin' awesome, huh? Aw, you're sweet. Also, it makes me very happy when readers are as excited about things to come as I am. AND you get bonus points, because you don't know exactly what those things are. LOL. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Mars Bars or Zippos. So there._

* * *

The following days were long. There seemed to be a giant Mad-Eye-sized hole that hung over everything. I was glad Hagrid had taken the thestrals back to Hogwarts before I left the Burrow the next day. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle seeing them, and if I was lucky, I wouldn't have to for a long time. I had no desire to see what they really looked like, and was perfectly happy with the CGI thestral I had been picturing since seeing the _Order of the Phoenix_ film. It was less creepy than what a real thestral probably looked like.

I seemed to be constantly thinking about Mad-Eye and Hedwig. I felt incredibly guilty, and I barely slept. Kailee told me I wouldn't have been able to stop Mad-Eye going even if I had known, and I honestly knew that, but that didn't help at all. Perhaps Mad-Eye's death was a bit easier to take, since he had died the way he should have: fighting. But Hedwig was a different matter entirely. Any _Potter_ fan would have to admit that Hedwig was awesome, and she was probably at the top of most fans' "Favorite Pets" list. I didn't know the story of what happened with Harry (and I didn't dare ask), but I knew she had been in her cage, and unable to fly away. It was just horrible.

I still had no desire to read _Deathly Hallows_. Mad-Eye had just proved the point that I probably wouldn't be able to change any deaths even if I knew about them. Working at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes really helped take my mind off things. There was usually something distracting going on, but when things were slow, it was almost unbearable. I knew George worried about me at those times, because I would get really quiet and broody, but he never brought it up.

Two days later, Kailee and I ate dinner with the rest of the Order at the Burrow. The kitchen was rather crowded that night and it was difficult to move. I was squeezed between Ginny and George. Ginny was left-handed and I right-handed, and I was failing horribly at trying not to bump her elbow every time I tried to eat. Mine and George's fingers were twined together under the table, his thumb stroking the back of my hand lightly. Harry, who was crammed on the other side of Ginny, finally spoke up near the end of the meal.

"No news about Mad-Eye?" he asked Bill, who was sitting directly across from him. Everyone looked hopefully at Bill.

"Nothing," he said. My heart sank and I looked back at my plate and set to half-heartedly cutting off a bit of my chicken. George noticed and squeezed my hand.

"The _Daily Prophet_ hasn't said a word about him dying or about finding the body," Bill continued. "But that doesn't mean much. It's keeping a lot quiet these days."

"And they still haven't called a hearing about all the underage magic I used escaping the Death Eaters?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley, who shook his head. "Because they know I had no choice or because they don't want me to tell the world that Voldemort attacked me?"

"The latter, I think. Scrimgeour doesn't want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he it, nor that Azkaban's seen a mass breakout."

"Yeah, why tell the public the truth?" Harry asked sarcastically.

Ron spoke up angrily. "Isn't anyone at the Ministry prepared to stand up to him?"

"Of course, Ron," said Mr. Weasley, "but people are terrified, terrified that they will be the next to disappear, their children the next to be attacked! There are nasty rumors going around; I for one don't believe the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts resigned." That had been in the _Daily Prophet_ the day I'd returned from America, and had also been the subject of an Order meeting. Professor Charity Burbage had joined the list of disappearances. It was the same day as the obituary that Elphias Doge had written for Dumbledore. "She hasn't been seen for weeks now," Mr. Weasley continued. "Meanwhile Scrimgeour remains shut up in his office all day: I just hope he's working on a plan."

There was a brief silence. Mrs. Weasley retrieved the empty plates by magic and served apple tart. Fleur broke the silence as everyone began eating again.

"We must decide 'ow you will be disguised, 'Arry." Harry looked confused. "For ze wedding," she explained. "Of course, none of our guests are Death Eaters, but we cannot guarantee zat zey will not let something slip after zey 'ave 'ad champagne."

"Yes, good point," Mrs. Weasley said. She had pulled out a long piece of parchment, on which I suspected was a lit of wedding-related jobs. "Now, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?"

Ron then began complaining about having to clean his room, apparently because Bill and Fleur weren't getting married in his bedroom (which was actually a pretty good point). After the meal, I said a long goodbye to George out in the garden and then left with Kailee.

* * *

"Ivy? Ivy, wake up."

I didn't open my eyes. "M'wake," I muttered.

Fingers traced my collarbone. "Darling, open your eyes."

I did so, and was surprised to see George kneeling beside my bed. I stretched, then sat up, rubbing my eyes. "George. What are you doing here?"

"I was worried. Kailee said you were awake when she left," he said, sounding confused.

"But she just left."

"Love, it's half-past noon."

I gaped at him for a second, then turned to look at my clock. The red numbers glared 12:37 at me. My stomach gave a nervous lurch. I was more than half an hour late for work.

"Damn it," I muttered to myself, shoving back the sheet. "I'm sorry, George, I only closed my eyes for a second." I hurried over to the wardrobe and began pulling out clothes and my work robes. "I – I'm sorry. I can be dressed in five minutes, I don't need a shower, I'll just – "

George suddenly grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, pulling me away from the wardrobe. "Ivy, it's fine."

"I'm sorry," I said again, looking down at the magenta robes in my hands.

He tucked some hair behind my ear, and I looked up. "No harm done." He smiled, but then it faded slowly. "What's wrong, Ivy?"

I looked away. "Nothing. I – I just haven't been sleeping well lately." I bit my lip. "Or at all."

"Ivy," he said, his voice worried. At first I thought it was because of my recent sleeping habits, but then he said, "That's not all of it. What's bothering you?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, really. I – I'll just get dressed, and then – "

"Ivy, I'm not daft!" he said harshly. I looked at him, slightly alarmed. "You've been off since..." He trailed off, looking at me earnestly. "If – if you don't want to be with me anymore, then – then just say so, and – "

"George Weasley, you _are_ daft!" It was his turn to look shocked. "I told you it didn't matter to me. I love you, no matter what. And if you think I could really be _that_ shallow, then you've got another thing coming, 'cause – "

He kissed me suddenly, pulling my body against his by my waist. Startled, I dropped the robes and wrapped my arms around his neck. "That's good," he said when he pulled away. I smiled slightly. He touched my cheek gently. "I love you too. I want to take care of you." He kissed my forehead, then my cheek. "I want you to be able to talk to me. About _anything_. You know you can, right?"

"Yeah." I pressed myself closer to him, and he hugged me tightly. I turned my nose into his neck. "I..." I started talking very fast. "I feel guilty about Mad-Eye. I know I shouldn't, I know I couldn't have done anything. Voldemort came out of nowhere, and I couldn't think, I was scared. And then – "

"Ivy." His arms tightened around me briefly, and then he pulled away to look at me. "Love, even if you'd known what was going to happen, you couldn't have stopped him going."

I stared at him with wide eyes. He was right, of course. Mad-Eye, if he'd have believed me, would have gone anyway. Harry's life was more important than his own, and keeping him safe had to be a priority. It's what I would have done, if someone had told me I was going to die in some fight. I'd go anyway, if it was for the greater good.

"What – what if I had known?" I whispered.

"You didn't," he said, frowning. "There's no way you could have known."

I felt a small twinge of guilt. I wished more than ever that I could tell him the truth, so he could understand. _If I could tell just one person,_ I thought, _it would be George._ But I couldn't. As much as I loved and trusted George, too many people knew already, and the fewer people who knew about Rowling's books, the better. Kailee, Professor McGonagall, and Remus were the only ones who knew, and I intended to keep it that way. I trusted them because they knew what was at stake if Voldemort found out. The entire population of another world, many of whom loved the Potterverse just as much as I did, though they didn't know it really existed. And there was Justin, and Clover, and of course Scott. I was all that stood between them and Voldemort.

I leaned into George, burying my face in his shoulder. I was crying a moment later, and George stood there with me, stroking my hair soothingly. I pulled away after a few moments, wiping at my face. "I'm sorry," I muttered, noticing the wet spot I'd left on his robes.

"It's all right."

Still wiping at my face, I knelt to pick up my work robes. "I'm sorry I was so late to work," I said. "I can be ready to leave in fifteen minutes – "

"No," he said quickly. He took the robes from my hands. "You should stay home, get some rest."

I frowned. "I'm fine, George, I can – "

"No offense, love," he said, touching my cheek, "but you look terrible." His traced under my eye, where I was sure there were bags. "You need sleep. And it's been pretty slow today, I could stay with you."

I sighed, covering my hand with his. "At least send Tobey to Fred, so he knows where you are."

He smiled. "All right."

* * *

George stayed with me that night, and by morning I felt completely caught up on sleep. George left to get breakfast at the Burrow, and I spent the better part of the morning and afternoon gathering Harry's birthday present.

Harry's birthday dinner was in the Burrow's garden. Several tables had been placed in a line, and Fred and George had enchanted a bunch of purple lanterns, each decorated with the number '17', to float over the tables. Purple and gold streamers had been draped neatly over the trees and bushes, the leaves of which had been turned gold. The birthday cake was a beach-ball-sized golden Snitch.

Kailee and I arrived at a quarter to seven, and convinced Fred and George, who were waiting at the end of the lane for the party guests, that we were capable of finding our way into the house on our own. I hugged Harry as soon as I saw him. "Happy Birthday, Harry," I said brightly, handing him a present. "It's from both of us," I added, gesturing at Kailee.

He opened it. "Mars Bars?" he asked in confusion.

"Two dozen," I said with a grin. "I wasn't sure if you liked them, so – "

He shook his head. "No, I do. I haven't had one in ages. Thanks, both of you."

Fred and George then came in with Remus, Tonks, and Hagrid. Hagrid was wearing a hairy, brown suit and a yellow and orange tie, which I recognized (only from the description) from _Prisoner of Azkaban_ and _Goblet of Fire_. Remus seemed more tired than usual, which was strange, because Tonks looked better than ever.

Remus shook Harry's hand, and Tonks hugged him. "Happy Birthday, Harry," she said.

"Wine?" George offered, holding up a bottle.

I shook my head, but Kailee said, "Please," and he poured her a glass.

"Seventeen, eh!" said Hagrid, as Fred handed him a bucket-sized glass of wine. "Six years ter the day since we met, Harry, d'yeh remember it?"

I smirked, picturing Daniel Radcliffe. _I – I'm a what?_

"Vaguely," Harry said with a grin. "Didn't you smash down the front door, give Dudley a pig's tail, and tell me I was a wizard?"

I laughed out loud. Excellent summary. "And all I got was an owl," I muttered to Kailee. She giggled.

"I forge' the details," Hagrid chuckled.

Kailee walked away, chatting with Fred, and George wrapped his arm around my waist and handed me a butterbeer. "How are you, love?" he asked quietly.

I smiled at him. "Better." He grinned and kissed my cheek.

We followed the rest of the party out to the garden and found seats. George startled me by pulling me down into his lap, earning a disapproving look from his mother. However, she didn't say anything. Hagrid was now talking to Charlie, and I listened in.

"Bin meanin' ter write fer ages," Hagrid was saying. "How's Norbert doin'?"

I tried to hide my smile. I was fairly certain I wasn't supposed to know about the dragon he had once kept in his cabin years ago.

Charlie laughed. "Norbert? The Norwegian Ridgeback? We call her Norberta now."

My eyes widened and I tried not to laugh. "Wha – Norbert's a girl?" Hagrid asked, shocked.

He nodded. "Oh yeah."

"How can you tell?" Hermione asked.

"They're a lot more vicious."

I turned away from them and drank some butterbeer, looking around the table. The only people I didn't recognize were a young girl, a chubby wizard with a black pointy beard, and a woman who was even more beautiful than Fleur. I guessed they were Fleur's parents and her little sister, Gabrielle.

"I think we'd better start without Arthur," Mrs. Weasley announced finally, and I suddenly realized he was missing. "He must have been held up at – oh!"

A silver streak suddenly came flying across the lawn and down the table. It turned into a weasel – Mr. Weasley's Patronus, I recognized – stood on its hind legs, and spoke.

"Minister of Magic coming with me."

It disappeared. Remus and Tonks stood up from the seats beside George and I. "We shouldn't be here," said Remus quickly. "Harry – I'm sorry – I'll explain another time – "

I slid into Remus's abandoned chair as they dashed away. "Do you want to leave?" George asked me quietly, squeezing my hand.

I shook my head. "I can't think of any reason he'd want to talk to me..."

There was a sharp crack, and Mr. Weasley appeared at the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour. I noticed as they approached the garden that Scrimgeour looked much older than he had last Christmas.

"Sorry to intrude," he said into the silence as he came to a halt by the table. "Especially as I can see that I am gate-crashing a party." His eyes swept over us all, lingering first on me, then on Harry's Snitch cake. "Many happy returns."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"I require a private word with you," Scrimgeour continued. "Also with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger."

Everyone looked at them. "Us?" said Ron, confused. "Why us?"

"I shall tell you that when we are somewhere more private." He looked at Mr. Weasley. "Is there such a place?" he asked sharply.

"Yes, of course," Mr. Weasley said nervously. "The, er, sitting room, why don't you use that?"

"You can lead the way," Scrimgeour said to Ron. "There will be no need for you to accompany us, Arthur."

I frowned at the Minister as Harry, Ron, and Hermione got to their feet. I wondered why he wanted to see all three of them. The only thing I could think of was that he somehow knew that they were going to drop out of Hogwarts.

"Would – would anyone like some more wine?" Mr. Weasley asked, breaking the silence that followed.

"_Oui_," said the wizard I didn't know, holding out his wine glass. I frowned at him, thinking that he was Fleur's father, but still not entirely sure. He _could_ be some other French relative of Fleur's.

George saw my expression and leaned toward me. "That's Fleur's parents, and her sister, Gabrielle," he explained. "The rest of her family is coming tomorrow."

"Oh," I said, nodding. "Is her mother a veela?" I asked. I honestly couldn't remember what family member the veela hair in Fleur's wand was from.

"Half. Her grandmother is all veela." I nodded.

Fifteen minutes passed in near silence as we awaited Harry, Ron, and Hermione's return to the party. Then everyone looked up in shock as there was sudden shouting from the house. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shared an alarmed look and hurried toward the house together. A few minutes later, Scrimgeour burst out of the kitchen door. He spared the party only a fleeting glance before limping away and Disapparating.

Soon, they rejoined the party and explained what Scrimgeour had wanted. The contents of Dumbledore's will had finally been released. Hermione had received an ancient copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, Ron had been given a Deluminator, and Harry had been left the Snitch he caught in his first game of Quidditch at Hogwarts. Harry had also been left the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, but Scrimgeour claimed that it was not Dumbledore's to bequeath is his will, and thus would not let Harry have it.

The three things they had been allowed to have were passed around the tables. I didn't see what was so great about _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, having never heard of Beedle or his tales. However, it must have been very valuable, with how old it seemed and how excited everyone got over it. I merely flipped through its aged pages, not understanding any of it, since I had forgotten most of what I'd learned in the Ancient Runes class I'd taken.

The Deluminator and the Snitch were entirely different, however. The Deluminator looked to be nothing more than a silver Zippo lighter, but when Hermione explained what it could do, I realized it was what I knew as a Put-Outer. Since it had been Dumbledore's, it was very likely that it was the very same Put-Outer Dumbledore had used on Privet Drive sixteen years ago to extinguish the streetlights.

I seemed to be the only one who was even slightly interested in the Snitch. I was holding a piece of _Potter_ history. The first Snitch Harry ever caught at Hogwarts, the one he nearly swallowed. It was simply amazing. I practically knew that particular story by heart, owing not only to _Sorcerer's Stone_, but also to the fact that Fred, George, and Lee liked to recount the tale of Harry's first Quidditch game whenever the subject of Harry's Seeking skill came up.

After hurrying through dinner, a chorus of "Happy Birthday", and some cake, the party broke up. I left with Kailee; Fred and George had been shanghaied into helping their mother clean up the garden, as well as help with a few small, last-minute wedding preparations. By the looks on their faces, they didn't seem to believe they were really "small" preparations.

Kailee and I spent the rest of the night talking about the wedding the next day. I still wasn't looking forward to the dancing part, but I was excited. I'd only gone to a Muggle wedding once, when I was nine, so I was eager to find out what Wizard weddings were like.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Not my favorite chapter. Lots of filler and a crappy ending. Ugh. Hopefully, I'll make it up to you with chapter thirteen, which is the wedding chapter. It includes a number of important plot thingies (not counting what's from JKR's plot), and a cliffhanger that I expect will drive most of you crazy. But keep in mind, it's not the worst cliffhanger that's yet to come. _

_Chapter thirteen is mostly written out. However, with only four and a half weeks left in the semester, I may not be able to finish it up until break. Please be patient. I'm extremely stressed out at the moment with an overload of papers and projects and finals, so it's a miracle you got this one. Hopefully, thirteen will be worth the wait. _

_Please, break the monotony of school work and help me procrastinate by leaving a review. Hehehe. _


	13. Promises

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Thirteen

_Promises_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Here's an extremely long chapter to make up for the three-month wait. Sorry! I have no excuse other that that my muse was on vacation until after I saw _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_. Awesome movie, right? My favorite parts were the part at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and the part where Harry drinks the Felix Felicis and he acts all drunk/high. Hehehe. I need to see it again. _

_I love Luna Lovegood! She is AWESOME! My third favorite character! I gave George's 'veela cousins' line to Fred, for obvious reasons. _

_Kaylin helped me come up with the Valley girl idea. Hi Kaylin! (waves enthusiastically) _

_To explain the disclaimer, I wrote it after my "Now That We're Men" fan video on YouTube was taken down. I had put a disclaimer in the description and at the end of the video, but apparently that doesn't matter. I'm really mad about it because it was the best video I've done. Ugh. _

wendystwin: _(ESF hides under her bed) Well, this is insanely long. Hopefully that will make up for me not writing what you want me to. Wuv you! Cuddle! _

sunshine'n'sarcasm: _I like the eccentric reviews. LOL. They make me smile. _

DaniLionFace: _Rifle? I better get a bulletproof vest too. _

FoxyGirl0413: _I hope you like this chapter. It has a tree that bursts into flames. Did that confuse you? (evil laugh) _

Easy Button: _"Working for blood traitors who routinely mock the Dark Lord" was very funny. It made me laugh. Also, you reviewed on my birthday, so you get extra points. LOL. _

Folfette Dreamwalker: _Aw, thank you! You're so sweet! And hey, if you wrote fan fiction about your internationally famous book series, would you admit it? LOL. But you can't say there aren't some extreme fan fiction clichés in the epilogue. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ Since the legal idiots of the world don't care whether we write disclaimers or not, I own it all. That's right, I am J. K. Rowling, and you are all my mindless drones! BOW TO ME!!! (But, seriously, I only own my plot. I don't own Pokémon cards, Ghost of the Robot's "Angel", or the _Lion King_.) _

* * *

Lee hammered on the door. "Aren't you guys ready yet?"

"Almost!" Kailee called.

"You can come in if you want, Lee," I said.

"You could just curl it and wear it down," Kailee said as Lee came in. "George likes it down, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Lee said, drawing up a chair and sitting on it backwards, "do that, and he won't be able to keep his hands off you." I gave him a look, and he snickered. "Sorry." He grinned at us. "You girls look smashing."

I grinned. "Thanks, Lee." That morning, Aunt Becky had dragged me to Diagon Alley after I told her I would be wearing the same dark green dress robes I'd bought two Christmases ago. I finally accepted the fourteen-galleon, full-length silver dress robes after Aunt Becky agreed that they would be an early Christmas present. Lee, Kailee, and I had gathered at my apartment at two o'clock. Lee changed in the bathroom while Kailee and I did the same in my bedroom. Kailee's dress robes were reddish-orange, and the brown witch hat she wore was adorned with a large flower that matched the color of her robes perfectly.

"Go ahead and curl it," I said to Kailee. She began curling my hair with her wand, and I eyed her in the mirror. "So, Kailee, anyone in particular you're hoping to dance with?"

She glared at me. Much to her displeasure, I'd recently taken to teasing her about her very obvious crush on Fred (which she vehemently denied). "Shove it, Wolfe, or my hand will slip and turn your hair green."

I giggled, and Lee looked interested. "Does our Kailee fancy someone?"

"You mean you haven't noticed the way she looks at Fred?"

Kailee poked my head with hers wand, and I watched in shock as one of the bits of my hair that she'd already curled turned lime green. My mouth fell open, and Lee broke down laughing. "Kailee!" I complained, touching it.

"Sorry," she said insincerely, "my wand slipped." I glared at her. "I've told you a million times, _I don't fancy Fred_."

"So you turn my hair green?" I asked indignantly.

"It wasn't all of it, and it'll wear off in a couple days."

"A couple days? Oh, stop it," I said to Lee, who was still laughing.

Kailee brandished her wand. "Now sit still and be quiet, or I'll turn one purple."

* * *

At five past three, we arrived at the Burrow. My hair was properly curled, though the one curl on the right side of my head was still green, as Kailee refused to turn it back (and I was admittedly beginning to like it that way). We appeared amongst other arriving wizards and witches, forming a line to a huge white marquee in the orchard. Fred, George, Ron, and a chubby redheaded boy (who I thought might be a Weasley cousin) were standing at the marquee entrance, clutching what I guessed were seating charts.

George spotted me as we approached the marquee and grinned at me. I returned his smile.

"Excellent, some veela cousins," I heard Fred say. He then pushed past the three middle-aged witches at the front of the line and said to a pair of French girls, "Here – _permettez-moi_ to _assister vous_." They giggled and let him escort them inside.

While the Weasley boy I didn't know (I guessed he might be Harry in disguise) took the three witches, and Ron took the white-haired, shy-looking wizard ahead of us, George came straight to me. "Ivy, darling, you look simply ravishing," he said, grabbing my hand and kissing it dramatically.

I blushed. "Thanks. You look good too."

He frowned slightly and touched my hair. "Did you know a bit of your hair is green?"

I gave Kailee a look. "Kailee doesn't like to be teased," I said simply. Kailee gave an innocent smile.

He offered me his arm, clearly trying to hide a smile. "Well, come on, beautiful, I'll show you where you're sitting." I rolled my eyes, but grinned and took his arm. Inside, the marquee held many rows of golden chairs, with a long purple carpet going up the middle. White and gold flowers were wrapped around the support poles of the marquee, and there were a large number of gold balloons tied together at the front where Bill and Fleur would later be standing.

"New dress?" George asked as he led me into the marquee.

I nodded. "Aunt Becky bought it for me this morning. It was fourteen galleons, but she insisted on it."

"I'm glad she did. Right here," he said, stopping at the last chair in the first row. "I convinced Mum to sit you with me. Barny, Hermione, and Ron are right behind us, and Lee and Kailee are on their right. Barny is Harry, by the way," he said quietly. "Polyjuice Potion. We got some hair from a Muggle boy in the village."

There was a sudden crash, and everyone turned to the back. Hagrid was getting up from a pile of golden chair pieces, apologizing loudly.

I giggled. "Poor Hagrid."

"Dad'll fix it," he said as his father hurried over to Hagrid. He turned back to me and touched my green hair again. "So what were you teasing Kailee about?"

I smirked. "Oh, this and that. Kailee might hurt me if I tell, even though she totally denies it. But you should be able to get it out of Lee."

He laughed. I realized he was still somewhat focused on my robes. He caressed my cheek. "Blimey, you're beautiful."

I blushed again and opened my mouth to reply, but someone else interrupted.

"Fred!" a woman barked, and I jumped. "Are you bothering that girl?"

An elderly woman wearing a large, pink feathered hat was heading toward us, escorted by Ron, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. George scowled and his hand dropped from my face. He then plastered on a fake smile and turned.

"I'm not Fred, Auntie, I'm George," he said innocently.

She glared. "It doesn't matter which one you are, you shouldn't be bothering her!"

"I wasn't aware that telling a girl she's beautiful would be considered a bother." She opened her mouth, but he ignored her. "I don't think she'll get too offended, she's my girlfriend."

The woman looked me over. "So this is that Muggle-born?" she asked. "The one who started Hogwarts late?"

I smiled, hoping she wouldn't ask about Dumbledore's reasoning. "Uh, yeah, that's me."

She gave me what could only be described as an appraising scowl. "American." She said it like it was some kind of unfortunate disease. "Your teeth are crooked." I lost my smile and gaped at her in shock. She turned to George. "And you, boy, your ears are lopsided."

Fred suddenly appeared with Lee and Kailee. "Auntie Muriel!" he exclaimed happily. "How've you been? Seen any dungbombs? I've misplaced a few."

She gave him a rather frightening glare. "Show me to my seat, Ronald!" she barked, making Ron jump. "And make sure it's far from those heathens!"

"What an old hag," George growled as Muriel followed Ron to a chair near the center aisle, muttering something about being a hundred and seven.

"What'd she say?" Fred asked.

"My teeth are crooked, and George's ears are lopsided." I scoffed, still a bit angry at the way she'd called me American. "Really, your hair's short enough that you can tell it's not even there."

Fred sighed. "She insults everyone."

"I still say setting off that dungbomb under her chair that Christmas was the best idea we ever had," said George, and his twin nodded in agreement.

"Why's that?" Kailee asked.

"She never came back."

George looked at his watch. "It'll be starting soon." He looked at Fred. "We'd better make sure there aren't anymore guests to seat." Fred nodded, and George kissed my cheek before following him out of the marquee.

Lee, Kailee, and I sat in our seats. I admired the decorations at the front of the marquee for a few moments before Kailee poked me in the back. I turned around, and she gestured at Lee, smirking. He was staring open-mouthed at the veela cousins on the other side of the marquee. I giggled to myself. Then there was a small commotion from said veela cousins, and I saw Harry ('Barny') walking down the center aisle, escorting a guy with dark hair, thick bushy eyebrows, a duck-footed gait –

With sudden realization at who this was, I quickly turned to face Kailee and Lee. "Ohmigod, is that _Viktor Krum_?" I demanded.

Kailee gasped. "Where?!" She spotted 'Barny' showing Krum where to sit. "Ohmigod, it is!"

Lee rolled his eyes. "_Girls_!"

I snorted. "I've heard he's a bit stupid."

Kailee looked horrified. "_Stupid_?!" she repeated in shock. "He's a genius! One of the best Seekers in the world!"

I laughed as 'Barny', Ron, and Hermione sat near Lee. "Seekers don't really do it for me. No offense, Barny." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Yeah, it's Beaters you like, right, Ivy?"

Fred and George had appeared in their seats beside me. I smirked. "That's right, Fred. I also like pranksters with one ear."

George laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Ah, darling," he said, "we were made for each other!" I giggled and leaned into him.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were walking up the aisle, smiling and waving. Mrs. Weasley was in a set of amethyst robes and matching hat that looked brand-new. Bill and Charlie, the best man, were soon standing up at the front, in dress robes with white roses on their chests. Fred wolf-whistled at them, and there was giggling from a number of girls. Then music swelled, and everyone turned in their seats to face the entrance.

Everyone sighed at the sight of Fleur, escorted by her father, coming up the aisle. Fleur was wearing a simple white dress. Her veela side, instead of making her look more beautiful than everyone else, seemed to make everyone look prettier than usual. Ginny and Gabrielle were wearing lovely gold bridesmaid dresses. Fleur reached Bill and looped her arm through his. They smiled at each other before turning to face the front, and for a moment, Bill looked more handsome than he had since he'd met Fenrir Greyback.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began a singsong voice. I was surprised to see the same wizard that had led Dumbledore's funeral. _Oh, yeah, Rowling, that's original_, I thought jokingly. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

"Yes, my tiara sets off the whole thing nicely," I heard Muriel say in a loud whisper. "But I must say, Ginevra's dress is far too low cut."

I saw Ginny turn and wink at Harry, before facing front again. I smiled. They were _so_ going to get married. My grin widened. _I wonder if I'll marry George?_

The thought hadn't crossed my mind again after the first time, right after George had lost his ear. I looked at George at the same time he looked at me. I blushed a little, and George smiled and winked at me. He squeezed my hand as he turned back to Bill and Fleur, who were now exchanging vows.

I let my thoughts wander. It seemed rather soon to be thinking about marriage, as we'd only been dating about two months. I loved him, and I knew he loved me, but we were comfortable with what we had, I supposed.

_But if he asked me...?_ I smiled slightly, glancing at George. If he asked, I'd say yes, of course. It had very little to do with the fact that we were in a war and could die any day, though that was, admittedly, part of it. I'd never imagined Fred or George as the type to settle down. I'd always imagined the two of them at the age of a hundred, gallivanting about in wheelchairs, pranking other elderly people.

That was before I'd met them, of course. Fred certainly didn't seem the type to settle down at nineteen, as he was always flirting with Kailee and every other pretty girl who came into the shop. As for George, the only flirting I could remember him doing was with me.

_Ivy Weasley_, I thought, then smirked. It sounded silly, like I was trying to come up with an internet alias.

George's grip on my hand tightened slightly, and I returned my attention to the ceremony. "Do you, William Arthur," the little wizard was saying, "take Fleur Isabelle to be your wife?"

Bill grinned happily at Fleur. "I do," he said.

Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour were both crying quietly nearby. It also sounded like Hagrid was blowing his nose, too.

"And do you, Fleur Isabelle, take William Arthur to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then I declare you bonded for life."

As they kissed, the wizard waved his wand over their heads and a shower of silver stars spiraled down around them. George dropped my hand suddenly as he and Fred led the following applause, and the gold balloons burst. Birds of paradise and small gold bells flew and floated around, singing and chiming.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" said the wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

I quickly stood up. I watched with amazement as the golden chairs rose into the air and the walls of the marquee disappeared. Then a pool of molten gold spread from the middle of the tent to form a dance floor. The chairs gathered around small, white-clothed tables and floated back to the ground with them. A bandstand appeared at the front of the tent, which a gold-jacketed band hurried toward. Waiters appeared everywhere, carrying silver trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and firewhisky, or piles of little cakes and sandwiches.

It might've been the most impressive thing I'd ever seen.

"Sweet!" I exclaimed, looking around at everything, grinning.

George laughed, wrapping an arm around me. "Let's get a table before they're all taken."

Fred, George, Kailee, Lee, and I grabbed one of the last empty tables. Fred quickly spotted the pair of veela girls from earlier chatting at the edge of the dance floor, and excused himself. Kailee watched him go, glaring.

I smirked. "Wow, jealous much?"

She turned her glare on me, pulling her wand out threateningly. "How would you like the rest of your hair to be green?"

I just laughed. The band began to play a waltz, and I watched as Bill and Fleur began their first dance. Soon Mr. Weasley and Madame Delacour joined them, followed by Mrs. Weasley and Monsieur Delacour. Then Luna, alone and wearing bright yellow robes and a large sunflower in her hair to match, strode onto the floor and began turning in slow circles, her eyes closed and waving her arms.

Lee snorted, and I glared at him. "Oh, leave her be."

I saw Hermione and Ron dancing, and smiled slightly at that. Then I spotted Fred leading one of the veela girls onto the dance floor. I looked at Kailee and saw that she'd noticed too, and was watching them dance with poorly disguised disappointment. Instead of teasing her (I didn't want all my hair to be green), I looked around and spotted Krum sitting a few tables away with 'Barny'.

"Why don't you ask Krum to dance?" I suggested.

Kailee looked absolutely horrified. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Come on, maybe you'll make Fred jealous!"

She glared at me. "Don't be daft."

"He's just a Quidditch player – "

"He's not _just_ a Quidditch player, he's an internationally – "

I rolled my eyes. "Blah, blah, blah!" I interrupted, and George laughed. "Please, he's a human being. Just go ask."

I grabbed a goblet of butterbeer from a passing waiter as her face began turning red. "I – I couldn't – "

I laughed. "Hufflepuff, through and through. _Do it_."

"Look, he's getting up," said Lee, gesturing at 'Barny' and Krum's table.

"No, I – "

Lee stood up, pulled Kailee out of her chair, and shoved her in the direction of Krum. She shrieked as she nearly collided with a waiter carrying a large tray full of firewhisky goblets. She looked back, before swallowing visibly and heading for Krum. She spoke with him briefly, her face beet red, and then he smiled and offered her his arm. She took it, smiling nervously, and they headed onto the floor. I grinned.

Lee stood up, also smiling, and said to George, "I'm going to go steal your sister for a dance." Without waiting for a response, he headed for Ginny, who had joined Luna.

"Wait, what?" he said worriedly, twisting around to look at Ginny. He glared, looking every bit the protective older brother, as he watched Lee put one hand on Ginny's waist.

I smirked, touching his shoulder. "Relax. Ginny is so totally going to end up with Harry."

He looked at me. "You think so?"

"Of course."

He spotted Harry leaning against a golden pillar and munching on a sandwich, watching Ginny dance with Lee.

Two more songs were played, and George and I just sat and talked for a while about random things, and laughing about Kailee's obvious crush on Fred. She stayed with Krum for all three of the first dances, and when she rejoined George and I, it was time for the cutting of the cake, and she seemed to be in a much better mood.

The cake was a typical wedding cake decorated with gold icing, except instead of a miniature bride and groom on top (or as I had expected from the Wizarding world, two-inch tall replicas of Bill and Fleur), it was topped with two model phoenixes that, when Bill and Fleur cut into the cake, took flight. There were also bottles of champagne that floated by themselves through the eating crowd.

As soon as I had swallowed my last bite of my piece of cake, George grabbed my hand. "Come have a dance, love," he said, grinning.

I blushed, licking icing from my lips. "George..." I began nervously, but he interrupted.

"Don't worry," he said, dragging me onto the dance floor. He stayed right on the edge, away from all the other dancing couples. I had a sudden image of Fred and Angelina dancing wildly in the Great Hall at the Yule Ball. As if he knew what I was thinking (though he couldn't, as I hadn't been there), he repeated, "Don't worry," and pulled me close, swaying gently to the music.

I let him lead me around, and I spent much of the time being focused on not tripping over his – or my own – feet. "See?" he said after a few moments. "You're not as bad as you said you were."

I cringed as I stepped on his foot. "Sorry."

He smiled. "It's fine." He leaned close and kissed my cheek. "I love you," he whispered in my ear.

I giggled. "I love you too."

The song ended then, and there was a few moments of light applause before the band started the next song. Lee and Ginny appeared.

"Can I steal my dear cousin for a dance?" Lee asked, grinning.

"Only if I can have my sister."

"Deal."

Before Ginny or I could protest at being traded like a pair of Pokémon cards, George was dancing away with Ginny, and I was stumbling over Lee's feet.

"So," said Lee as we danced. "When do you reckon you and George are getting married?"

My face burned red, and I stumbled over his feet again. "What – what makes you think – ?"

Lee snickered. "You seriously haven't thought about it?"

"So what if I have?"

"So you have!"

"I didn't – " I closed my eyes briefly, sighing. "Look, we've only been dating two months. Isn't that a bit soon to be thinking about marriage?"

Lee shrugged. "Maybe. But there _is_ a war on."

Before I could reply, the song ended and George appeared behind me, slipping his arm around my waist. "I'll be taking my girl back now," he said to Lee brightly. Without waiting for a response, he scooped me up.

"George!" I gasped, startled, and wrapped my arms around his neck. People stared as he carried me through the crowd to the other side of the dance floor. "George, you're insane," I told him as he set me back on my feet.

He grinned and pulled me close. "I know."

I laughed. "So was there a reason you did that?"

"I just want to keep you all to myself," he teased. I blushed, and he smirked. "You're sexy when you blush," he whispered in my ear.

I blushed even more, though I tried not to, and poked him in the chest. "You're teasing me, stop it."

"Not teasing you, darling." His thumb brushed over my cheekbone.

"You are too, my face gets all blotchy when I blush."

"Well, it's a sexy sort of blotchy."

I rolled my eyes, and I bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry," I said, glancing back. It was Luna Lovegood. "Ooh, hi, Luna!" I said brightly, turning to face her.

She smiled slightly and stopped dancing. "Oh, hello, Ivy," she said vaguely. "Hello, George."

"Hi," George said, unenthusiastically. I elbowed him.

"I love your sunflower, Luna, it's very pretty."

She beamed. "Thank you. Daddy suggested it; sun colors are supposed to be lucky at a wedding, you know."

I nodded in agreement, smirking. "Yeah, I think luck is better than purity these days."

George snorted with laughter, and to my surprise, Luna giggled as well. "Yes, I think so," she agreed. "You both look rather smart. Did Scott not come with you, Ivy? I haven't seen him."

"He's in America," I said carefully. "He'll be safer there until the war's over."

Luna nodded. "Oh, yes, I suppose so. I hope he'll be all right. He was the only Slytherin who was ever nice to me. He said hello when we passed in the corridors."

I smiled, trying not to laugh out loud. Scott didn't seem the type to go out of his way to be nice to Luna Lovegood. Was it possible that he had a crush on her? "Ah, well, that's Scott. He doesn't like to conform."

Luna smiled. "That's true. I suppose he and I have that in common."

George snickered, and I stepped on his foot. I was trying very hard not to laugh myself. The idea of my little brother dating Luna was getting funnier and funnier.

"I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from dancing. I do feel like dancing myself," she said dreamily, swaying back and forth. Then she danced away, arms waving above her head again.

As soon as she was gone, I started laughing. "Oh my God, I love Luna!"

George laughed. "She is great, isn't she?"

I snickered. "Scott thinks so, apparently."

"What?"

"He's obviously got a crush on her. How many Slytherins say hello to Loony Lovegood in the halls?"

"Good point," said George, grinning. He pulled me against his chest and resumed dancing with me. "You're sure he wasn't just trying to be nice?"

I shook my head. "I know my brother. He wouldn't go out of his way to be nice to Luna, of all people. He may be an unusual Slytherin, but he's still a Slytherin."

"That's true." He looked at something over my shoulder. "Take a look at Kailee."

I looked. She was drinking firewhisky at the table we'd left her at, staring off into the orchard and glaring at nothing. I sighed, scanning the other tables and the dance floor. "What happened to Fred?" I asked when I didn't see him.

"I saw him take a couple of veela girls out into the orchard. They're probably...well, you know."

"I should probably go talk to her. Can you keep yourself occupied for a while?"

George laughed. "I suppose I could suffer for a while without you." He kissed my cheek and wandered off, and I made my way over to Kailee.

"Y'know," I told her as I sat beside her, "if you tell him you fancy him, he probably wouldn't go make out with other girls."

She hit me really hard in the arm. "I don't fancy Fred!"

"Whatever," I said, rubbing my throbbing arm. "When are you going to admit it?"

"Never," she muttered, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest, "because it's not true."

I giggled. "That's what you say."

She whipped out her wand and pointed it threateningly at my hair. "I can still turn the rest of your hair green."

I shrugged and pulled the one green curl in front of my eyes. "I don't mind. The color's starting to grow on me." She scowled. "You're getting too worked up. Just tell him you think he's hot and – "

"What? I don't think he's hot!"

"Yes you do!" I giggled again. "Maybe he really likes you, but he doesn't think you like him, so he's snogging other girls."

She stared at me. "What on earth makes you think that?"

"He flirts with you all the time at work!"

She scowled some more. "He flirts with every female-shaped thing he sees!"

"Maybe, but he flirts with you the most."

She rolled her eyes. "He does not. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I don't fancy him."

"Whatever you say, m'dear."

I spotted George over her shoulder, and I snickered. "What?" she asked.

"George. He's dancing with Bill."

She looked over at them. Bill was letting George waltz around with him. "Freak."

"Miss Wolfe?"

I turned. It was the strangest-looking wizard I'd ever seen. He was a bit cross-eyed with hair that looked like white cotton candy. He wore a tasseled cap and robes in the same bright yellow color as Luna. He also wore a weird triangular symbol, hung from his neck on a gold chain. "Yeah?"

He smiled slightly. "My name is Xenophilius Lovegood. My Luna has just pointed you out to me. She tells me you know the art of Magical Music."

I stared. So this was Luna's father. Then I remembered: Luna once mentioned her father had written a story about it for the _Quibbler_. "Oh, yeah."

"If it isn't too much trouble, I was wondering if you could give me a demonstration? My Luna was quite excited when she told me about your ability. She'd never met anyone who practiced the art."

I tried not to stare at him in surprise. I'd never thought of the Magical Music as an 'art'. "I guess. I don't have my flute with me, but I can do it singing, even though it's not as good."

I grabbed Kailee's goblet of firewhisky and set it in front of me. I started singing, "_She comes home to me after a hard night's work, falls in my arms and sleeps like a bird. But startled, wakes up, like she don't know me. Cocks back her fist like she's goin' to slug me. Like, 'Who are you anyway, what are you doin' to me?_'" While I sang, the goblet floated two feet up in the air, hovered, and then settled back on the tabletop. Mr. Lovegood applauded.

"Very impressive, Miss Wolfe!" he exclaimed. "I wonder, would you consent to an interview for an article to featured in an upcoming issue of the Quibbler? Such talent is elusive to many wizards, so I would be very interested in taking an in-depth look at the art."

I could tell Kailee was trying not to laugh. But I couldn't see what it could hurt. "Sure," I nodded.

"Excellent, Miss Wolfe, excellent. I'll send you an owl soon to arrange an interview. Thank you very much, Miss Wolfe."

He made to stand up, but Kailee suddenly stopped him. "Mr. Lovegood?" she said. "What's that symbol you're wearing?"

"This, my dear?" asked Lovegood, touching the symbol on his chest. I looked at it closer. It was a triangle with a circle inside, with a vertical line going through the circle and triangle. "This is the sign of the Deathly Hallows."

I felt all the color drain from my face. Kailee looked just as surprised as I felt. She knew the title of the seventh book. "Deathly Hallows, sir?" I repeated.

"Yes," he nodded. "Do you know of them?" We shook our heads. "I'm not surprised. Few wizards believe. Are you familiar with 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'?"

"It's a fairy tale," said Kailee. I looked at her. "Three brothers cheat Death," she explained, "and Death pretends to reward them by giving them each a prize. One gets an unbeatable wand made of elder, one gets a stone that brings back the dead, and the last gets Death's cloak, an Invisibility Cloak."

"Precisely," said Lovegood. "Those are the Deathly Hallows. The Elder Wand," he traced the vertical line on the sign, "the Resurrection Stone," he traced the circle, "and the Cloak of Invisibility," he traced the triangle.

"But I'm pretty sure me mum never mentioned 'Deathly Hallows' when she told me the story."

"As you said, it is a fairy tale. However, we believers recognize that if the three objects, the Hallows, are united, the possessor will become the master of Death."

"They'd make you immortal?" I asked.

Lovegood nodded. "Yes."

"So you think they exist?"

"Of course."

"So if the story is true, then the three brothers must have lived. Who were they?"

Lovegood smiled excitedly. "A very good question, Miss Wolfe. The brothers in the story are Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell."

The name struck a familiar chord in my mind. "Peverell..."

He raised his eyebrows. "You know the name?"

"I dunno," I said distantly. "It sounds familiar."

"Perhaps you've been to Godric's Hollow?" I frowned at him. "Many generations of Peverells are buried there."

"I haven't," I said, "but – "

"Lovegood!"

All three of us looked around. A rather drunk-looking uncle of Ron's was standing a few tables away, gripping the shoulder of his son, who looked to be about Ginny's age. The poor kid seemed to want to be anywhere else.

"Ge' over here, will ya? M'son wants to be a journalist, thought ya could give 'im some pointers!"

"Certainly!" Mr. Lovegood brightly, either not noticing or not caring about the man's obvious drunkenness. "If you'll excuse me, ladies."

He left, and as soon as he was out of hearing range, Kailee scoffed. "Ridiculous."

"Kailee," I said, "do you know of any Peverells?"

She shook her head. "Either the name's died out, or he's making it up." She drank some of her firewhisky.

"No, Kailee, I _know_ I've heard the name before, I just don't know where."

She leaned closer. "Was it...y'know..._mentioned_?"

"I think so. Maybe only once." I sighed. "But the Deathly Hallows are definitely important. I mean, they're the title of the book."

"But it's so unlikely they really exist. The wand, maybe, but the stone and the cloak – I mean, you can't bring back the dead. And the Invisibility Cloak would be useless by now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in the story, the third brother passed the Invisibility Cloak on to his son when he was tired of eluding death. He was really old. Invisibility cloaks don't last that long."

I stared at her. "How long are they supposed to last?"

She shrugged. "Twenty, maybe thirty years. The charms wear off, they get ripped... What?"

I was gaping at her. "I – Harry's Invisibility Cloak."

"What about it?"

"Kailee, it was owned by his dad. James had it at school, in the seventies. And it's always worked for Harry."

She shook her head. "If it was _the_ Cloak, then Harry's parents wouldn't have died. They'd have been invisible to Death."

My mouth fell open. "They didn't have it..." I whispered.

"What?"

"Dumbledore had it."

"Why did Dumbledore have it?"

"I don't know! He gave it to Harry at Christmas his first year, with a note. 'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It was time it was returned to you.'" Kailee stared at me, clearly trying to decide whether or not to say something. "What?"

She sighed. "Well, the reason I asked Lovegood about it was that Viktor mentioned it while we were dancing. He said it was Grindelwald's sign. I told him who Lovegood was, and that no one takes him seriously, but – "

"What are you ladies whispering about?"

We both gasped and leapt apart; we'd been unconsciously leaning toward each other as we whispered. George was standing behind us.

"Nothing," Kailee said quickly.

George raised an eyebrow. "Nothing you'd be interested in, sweetie," I told him. "Girl stuff."

"All right, then," he said, though he still looked suspicious. "Care for another dance, love?" he asked, holding out his hand.

My face was burning as I took his hand. "Okay." I looked at Kailee. "We'll talk later."

She nodded. "All right."

I followed George out onto the dance floor. He pulled me close, swaying gently to the slow waltz the band was playing. "You reminded me a bit of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the way you and Kailee were whispering." I looked up at him, a bit surprised. He was grinning. "Not plotting anything, are you, love?"

"No," I said quickly, trying not to think about how our topic of conversation was likely to be discussed by the Golden Trio at some point during _Deathly Hallows_. "We really were just talking about girl things."

He seemed to be convinced. "All right then."

I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced in silence for a while. The sun had nearly set, casting an orange glow over the wedding guests. As it got darker, golden lanterns appeared on the canopy above, and moths fluttered around.

"I was thinking of letting my hair grow out," George said casually.

I looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "What do you think?"

"Hmm. Only if you're not doing it just to hide your lack of ear. 'Cause personally, I think you look just as handsome with one or two or seventeen ears."

George laughed. "Seventeen ears, eh? Why have you been picturing me with seventeen ears?"

I giggled. "I have _not_, I was just trying to make a point."

He kissed my cheek. "Point made, love. And I'm not trying to hide it, I just want a change."

"If you want to, go for it." I grinned at him. "You'd look pretty sexy with longer hair."

He grinned. "Yeah?"

"Sex_ier_, really," I said, resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes in contentment.

He chuckled, playing with the ends of my hair. The curling spell had begun to wear off. "Perhaps we could follow Fred's example and find a quiet place where you can tell me just how sexy I am," he suggested.

I pulled away slightly and smiled at him. "Sounds good to me, I'm getting a bit tired of dancing."

He looked surprised that I had agreed so easily, then grinned. He took my hand and led me off the dance floor, away from the celebrating guests, into the dark trees that surrounded the orchard.

Some time later (I wasn't exactly too worried about keeping track of time), George and I were situated comfortably at the base of a tree. We weren't too far away from the party; music and laughter drifted to our hiding spot. Fred and Fleur's cousins were nowhere to be seen (probably on the other side of the orchard, George said). George insisted that I sit in his lap, to keep my robes from getting dirty. I doubt that was the real reason, though, because we were doing quite a bit of making out.

"Ivy?" George muttered suddenly. We had been there for at least an hour, if not more, and it was very dark.

"Hmm?" I said distractedly, pressing kisses along his neck. He groaned lightly as I undid a couple buttons of his robes and slipped my fingers inside, along his collarbone. His hand was creeping up my thigh, and I suddenly wished I was wearing that damnable skirt instead of dress robes.

"I – uh – would you – ah!"

I giggled at his reaction as I shifted a bit in his lap in order to get better access into his robes. "Enjoying yourself?" I snickered. I needn't have even asked; I could feel his 'enjoyment' rather well.

"Little minx," he breathed, hugging me closer.

I giggled again, touching his cheek gently. "Sorry, sweetie, what were you trying to say?"

"Huh?"

I smiled slightly. "You were going to say something?"

"Oh," he muttered. "Yeah. Right. Do – do you want to marry me?"

Startled by the sudden question, I just looked at him, blushing a bit. I wondered if he'd thought about marrying me, like I had thought about marrying him. I had no idea what to say. We were only nineteen, were we really ready to get married?

"Uh – I – George, are you – ?"

"No!" he exclaimed. I raised my eyebrows, and he quickly backpedaled. "Er – I mean, not yet. E–eventually." I couldn't see his face very well in the dark, but I imagined his ears, if not his whole face, had gone very red. "I – You're the only one I'll ever want to – to marry."

I grinned broadly, my face still burning. _Oh, that's _so _romantic!_ I thought giddily, trying not to giggle like some sort of ditzy Valley girl. I hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Me too," I said quietly. "Marrying you, I mean. I love you."

He sighed, sounding almost relieved. "I love you, too." I closed my eyes as he kissed my shoulder, and I tangled my fingers in his hair. The more I thought about marrying George, the less crazy it sounded. He wanted to marry _me_! Two years ago, I couldn't have imagined being married to anyone, let alone someone who, at the time, I thought was just a book character. But now, here I was, promising to marry George Weasley, while dozens of people celebrated Bill and Fleur's wedding.

As soon as I remembered the party, I immediately realized how quiet it was. I could no longer hear the celebrating guests, or the music. I pulled away from George and turned to look behind me, in the direction of the party. "George," I said anxiously, "why is it so – ?"

There was a scream, followed by a couple more. I fell off George's lap in my haste to get off him and get my wand out of my sleeve at the same time. I quickly got to my feet, not worrying about the state of my robes or my hair. I could hear panicked voices and more screams, accompanied by cracks of Apparition and the sound of flying spells.

I started to run towards the chaos, but I had barely taken two steps when George caught my arm. I spun to face him. "George, what – ?"

"Please don't – "

I tried to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened. "George, come on, we have to – "

"Get out of here, Ivy, please!" I gaped at him. "You – You're not – I can't loose you, I – "

He grabbed both my arms suddenly and pulled me down to my knees. A stray spell flew over our heads, hit the tree we'd been sitting against, and the branch it hit burst into flames. I ducked my head as sparks and pieces of bark rained down. Shocked, I looked back at George, who was kneeling before me and watching me with wide eyes. Now, in the light from the fire, I could properly see the terrified expression on his face. _Terrified_.

"George?" I asked, now starting to get scared myself. I had never seen him look so frightened, not even when he tried to convince me not to be one of the Harrys.

"I want to know you're safe," he said firmly.

My heart was pounding, and I couldn't think straight. I could only think how Fred and George weren't supposed to be scared. They were supposed to laugh in the face of danger, like Simba. And Voldemort was supposed to finally die from choking on his tongue after eating a Ton Tongue Toffee, while the twins stood by laughing, like Ellie had theorized at the premiere. And _I_ was the reason he was so scared, he was worried about _me_.

"I – "

"Please, Ivy," he pleaded desperately, "_please_!"

I flung my arms around George's neck and kissed his cheek briefly. Then I pulled away and stroked his cheek. "Be – be careful."

He covered my hand with his own, looking relieved. "Always," he promised.

I let my hand fall away as I got to my feet quickly, and George stood as well. Leaves were falling from the burning tree. Before I could change my mind, I gripped my wand tightly and turned on the spot, Disapparating away from George and the Burrow.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** This is my favorite chapter so far. It makes me laugh at various points. Hehehe. _

_I found a really cool song. "Simi Valley", by Mary Carves the Chicken. Simi Valley = Ivy's hometown. Yay! It's on iTunes. _

_Not sure about when chapter fourteen will be out. Fourteen and fifteen both just need endings, and then they'll be done. I really want to get to chapter sixteen, so I hope it won't take too long. Anyway, please push the pretty button below and review!_


	14. Uncertainty

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Fourteen

_Uncertainty_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I love the phase "little minion dudes". Hehehe. Makes me giggle. Anyway, don't be angry, but there's no George in this chapter. (cower) It's got action, though! And some Green Day! Don't worry, George will be back next chapter. _

annie-lauren: _I did love James and Oliver's hair in _Goblet of Fire_. I have a thing for long hair on guys. Sexy! LOL. But their hair in _Half-Blood Prince _wasn't too bad either. _

sunshine'n'sarcasm: _Hahaha. You made me laugh again. _

DaniLionFace: _Violent side forgiven. We all have violent sides. Thus the reason for violent reader-proof underground shelters. LOL. _

FoxyGirl0413: _No. Despite the misleading beginning of this chapter, no. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but I really don't want to rewrite _Deathly Hallows_. _

wendystwin: _Slave? Whatever, jerk. Cuddly jerk. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Green Day's "American Idiot". Awesome song, though._

* * *

I reappeared on Grimmauld Place, two houses down from the former Order of the Phoenix headquarters. I sighed in relief when I saw that the street was deserted. I hurried for number twelve, half-expecting Death Eaters to jump out at me at any moment. I realized I'd forgotten to grab my shoes before Disapparating, having taken them off while kissing George in the orchard. I tapped my wand on the door once, and after it unlocked, it swung open and I went inside.

The door closed behind me as the old gas lamps lit themselves. I leaned against it, breathing hard. My hands were shaking slightly as I smoothed out my robes. There was a smear of dirt on the left side of my dress from when I'd fallen off George's lap. I sighed as I stepped off the doormat, combing out my hair with my fingers.

_"Severus Snape?"_

I gasped at the sound of Mad-Eye Moody's voice, and then I remembered the jinxes put up against Snape. "I'm not Severus Snape!" I called, and the Tongue Tying Curse washed over me, causing my tongue to roll back on itself for a moment. I coughed, trying to get rid of the odd feeling. I took another step forward.

Down at the end of the hall, a figure rose up out of the carpet. It was tall, grey, and emaciated, with empty eye sockets and waist-length hair and beard. It raised one skeletal finger, pointing at me accusingly as it flew toward me.

"No, no, no!" I exclaimed, a little too loud. The curtains hiding the portrait of Sirius's mother burst open, and she began screaming her usual insults. "It wasn't – I didn't kill you!"

The Dumbledore zombie burst into a cloud of dust, and I fell over, shocked and coughing. I stood up slowly. "Just a spell," I told myself quietly. Sirius's mother was still shrieking.

_"Filth! Mudbloods! Besmirching the house of my fathers – "_

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." I aimed my wand at the portrait, and the curtains shut with a bang, silencing the woman. I suddenly spotted the troll's leg umbrella stand lying on its side. My stomach tightened and I pulled out my wand, wondering if I wasn't really alone in the house.

I headed upstairs, past the heads of former house elves, intending to search the house for intruders. I had never been upstairs; Order meetings had always been downstairs in the kitchen. Anything I did know about the other floors was what I could remember from book five. "_Lumos_," I muttered when I reached the first landing. The light from my wand created spooky shadows and illuminated two doors, both of which stood open.

The first one I peeked into was a bedroom. The room was a mess. Drawers hung open, their contents strewn about the place. The bedcovers were thrown back and the mattress was lying crookedly on the bed frame. Someone had definitely searched the room, and probably the whole house. I left the room as it was and looked into the other.

"Oh wow," I whispered, despite myself. It was the drawing room, and on the opposite wall was the Black Family Tree. I went straight to it, feeling strangely excited. I held my wand up so I could read the various names. Near the bottom was 'REGULUS BLACK'. _R.A.B._, I thought to myself. I was absolutely certain of it. I wondered fleetingly whether there might be proof in the house, maybe a birth certificate or something. I decided to forget about it for the time being and continued reading names. Some I remembered from the books. There was a Flint, and a Longbottom, and a Crouch. And there was a Prewett, Molly Weasley's maiden name.

I felt a sudden surge of guilt. Why had I left the Weasleys when they might have needed me? It had been George, of course. The way he'd looked at me with real fear in his eyes had scared me. I scoffed at myself. "Some Gryffindor I've turned out to be," I muttered.

Suddenly there was a scream from downstairs, followed immediately by the shouts of Mrs. Black. I hesitated for a moment, and then ran out of the room and down the stairs. There was a cloud of dust, probably from the fake Dumbledore, obscuring the front door and three figures.

"SHUT UP!" one of them shouted, aiming a wand at the screaming portrait. The curtains shut with a bang and a burst of red sparks.

"Who's that?" I called, holding my wand ready. "Show yourself!"

The two people who were kneeling stood up quickly, and all three drew their wands. The dust was settling now, and I could make out who they were: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I started to lower my wand, but then caught myself.

"Ivy!" Hermione breathed, lowering her wand. "What are you – ?"

"Hold it," I ordered. "I could be a Death Eater. So could the three of you. Who was Harry Potter at Bill and Fleur's wedding?"

"Barny Weasley," said Harry, "a Weasley cousin."

"Cool." I tucked my wand into the hidden pocket of my dress robes. "Sorry I didn't ask before coming here, Harry. It was the first place I thought of."

"It's all right," Harry said.

"Why are you here?" Ron asked. "Why aren't you back at the Burrow?"

I shifted nervously. "I panicked and Disapparated," I said sheepishly. "I wasn't sure whether it was smart to go back, so I stuck around here."

"Ivy, have you checked if anyone else is here?" Hermione asked.

"I only got as far as the second floor before you three showed up," I told her. "The bedroom on that floor had been searched."

"There's a spell." She raised her wand. "_Homenum revelio_."

Surprisingly, nothing happened. "Well," said Ron, "you've just had a big shock. What was that supposed to do?"

"It did what I meant it to do!" Hermione snapped. "That was a spell to reveal human presence, and there's nobody here except us!"

"And old Dusty," added Ron, glancing at the place where the dust Dumbledore had risen. I shivered slightly.

"Let's go up," Hermione suggested, and Harry, Ron, and I followed her up the stairs to the drawing room. She lit the gas lamps with her wand, and then sat on the couch, hugging herself to keep warm in the cool room. I stood nearby, feeling slightly out of place. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had begun their quest for the horcruxes, and I felt like I was intruding.

Ron crossed to the window and moved the velvet curtain aside to look out. "Can't see anyone out there," he said. "And you'd think, if Harry still had the Trace on him, they'd have followed us here. I know they can't get in the house, but – " Harry suddenly cried out and cringed in pain. "What's up, Harry?"

I was genuinely surprised. I thought Harry's connection with Voldemort had closed after the Ministry fiasco when Sirius had died. I tried to remember if the connection had reestablished itself in book six at all, perhaps during the Battle of the Tower.

"What did you see?" Ron demanded, taking a few steps toward Harry. "Did you see him at my place?"

I stared at Harry, suddenly desperate to know what had happened.

"No, I just felt anger – he's really angry – "

"But that could be at the Burrow. What else? Didn't you see anything? Was he cursing someone?"

"No, I just felt anger – I couldn't tell – "

Hermione broke in shrilly. "Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!"

"It did, for a while," said Harry distractedly. "I – I think it's started opening again whenever he loses control, that's how it used to – "

"But then you've got to close your mind! Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember – "

"Yeah, I do remember, thanks."

I sighed at the rather pointless conversation. Harry's connection with Voldemort had to come in handy at some point. Rowling wouldn't burden him with migraines and fake visions for no reason, would she?

"Voldemort's probably angry because none of his little minion dudes have reported Harry's whereabouts," I offered. "If one of the Weasleys had been killed or captured, he'd probably be happy, because that would likely draw you out of hiding." They all stared at me, and I blushed. "Sorry, just speculating..."

"You're probably right, Ivy," Hermione said. I knew I could be wrong, but Ron relaxed very slightly at the idea, so I didn't say anything.

Harry turned away, facing the Black family tree tapestry. Then suddenly, a Patronus streaked through the window, and Hermione shrieked. Harry spun around with his wand drawn as the Patronus solidified into Mr. Weasley's weasel.

"_Family safe_," it said, "_do not reply, we are being watched_."

Ron gave a noise of relief and dropped onto the couch beside Hermione. I closed my eyes briefly and sighed in relief as Hermione whispered, "They're all right, they're all right!" and Ron laughed slightly. I was glad to know the other Weasleys were okay, but I still felt uneasy. I desperately wanted to see George.

Ron had hugged Hermione. "Harry," he said over her shoulder, "I – "

"It's not a problem," Harry said quickly. He looked nauseous. Was his scar still hurting? "It's your family, 'course you're worried. I'd feel the same way. I _do_ feel the same way."

"I don't want to be on my own," Hermione said. "Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?"

Ron nodded. "That's a good idea."

Harry suddenly muttered something about the bathroom and hurried off. Hermione watched him go worriedly, then turned to me. "Ivy, maybe you'd better stay with us – "

I shook my head abruptly. "No, that's okay," I said quickly. I wasn't going to get in the way of the horcrux hunt. "I'll stick around a few hours, and then go." Hermione was frowning at me. "I'm – I'm going to see if there's anything edible in the kitchen," I said, and quickly left the room.

The kitchen was even gloomier, and I lit the lamps with my wand before I sat down heavily at the table. Kreacher, though I doubt he wouldn't even acknowledge my presence, being Muggle-born, was nowhere to be seen. I didn't bother looking for food, since there probably wasn't anything edible and I wasn't hungry anyway. I rubbed at my eyes. I was exhausted, but I didn't want to fall asleep. If they could get into the Burrow, why wouldn't they be able to get into Grimmauld Place?

I was scared. I wanted to know what had happened. The message from Mr. Weasley brought little comfort. What had happened to Kailee, and Lee? I wanted to see George, so I could be convinced he was all right. I could still feel the sensation of his hands on me, his whisper in my ear, his lips moving over mine –

"Ivy?"

I jumped, and I realized everything was blurry. I'd been crying. I wiped at my eyes hurriedly as Hermione sat beside me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?" she asked. "I could transfigure some pajamas for you."

I shook my head. "No, I – I should get home. Kailee might wonder where I got to." She nodded in understanding. "Do you know what happened?" I asked. "George and I – we were in the orchard, and we just heard people screaming..."

"Kingsley sent a message," Hermione said, looking pale. "The Ministry fell. Scrimgeour was killed."

"Damn," I muttered. Scrimgeour wasn't the greatest guy, but he had been a far better Minister in the face of Voldemort than Fudge had been. "The Ministry, it's going to start coming after Muggle-borns, isn't it?"

Hermione nodded grimly. "Most likely. What are you going to do?"

I shrugged, sighing deeply. "There are some places I can go, but I don't know anywhere that I can stay in contact with the Order. I'll probably stick around and see how they go about it, while I think up a plan."

Hermione stared at me, looking like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it. "Ivy, I have to ask you something," she said finally.

"Yes?" I asked uncertainly.

She studied me for a moment, then, "Are you keeping something from George?"

I stared at her. "Um... I wasn't aware you were so interested in my relationship with George, Hermione."

She drew herself up in that way she did when she was about to do something related to her prefect duties. "I don't mean just from George. I mean from everyone."

I tried not to look worried. "Everyone has secrets, Hermione."

Her eyes narrowed, now doing nothing to hide her suspicion. "How do you know how Harry's connection to Voldemort works?"

My mouth opened, then closed. I thought over what they had said. Had any of them mentioned Voldemort? I couldn't remember. "Hermione..."

"What exactly are you hiding, Ivy? If it's something to do with Harry and Voldemort – "

"It has everything to do with Harry and Voldemort!" I said loudly. Hermione looked slightly scandalized. I lowered my voice, not wanting Harry to come investigate. I sighed. "I should've – You _are_ the brightest witch of your age... Look, Hermione, it _may_ have everything to do with Harry and Voldemort, but I can't tell you anything about it."

"Why not?"

"I promised Dumbledore. If Voldemort finds out – "

"I can keep a secret."

"That's not the point, Hermione!" I stood up and took to pacing the length of the table. "If Voldemort finds out what I know, we'll be looking at a much earlier end to this war, and it won't be in our favor!"

She still looked very suspicious, and I sighed. "Ask all you want, I'm not telling you. I'll go back to California before I tell, and that's not very likely. Look, I have to get going, Kailee's going to wonder where I am."

I turned away, heading for the stairs up to the main level. "Wait a minute, Ivy!" Hermione protested, getting up.

I faced her. "Obviously you don't trust me, but I want to do anything I can to help our side. So I think you should know that I believe Regulus Black's initials are important."

I left Hermione looking confused.

* * *

Hanway Street, which connected Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, was deserted. The only light came from the streetlights. I set off quickly down the street, heading for Oxford Street, my arms crossed against the cold of the morning. I rubbed at my eyes, wishing very much that I could Apparate right to my bed.

I came to an abrupt halt as the streetlight above me flickered and went out. Curious, I looked up at the sky. I saw a dark shape, darker than the sky, pass over the street. I shivered as the air around me grew colder. _Dementor,_ I thought darkly, glaring up at it as it glided away. "V-Voldemort..." I muttered as I continued down the street, my teeth chattering. "Stupid dementors..."

I might have just been paranoid, but I felt like I was being followed. I looked around, my hand drifting to where my wand was hidden. I didn't see anyone. I bit my lip. I fought the urge to light up my wand so I could see properly, because this was a Muggle neighborhood. I picked up my pace.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I ducked instinctively and a spell flew over my head. I drew my wand. "_Protego_!" I said just in time. A yellow jet of light bounced off my shield and cracked the stone of a nearby building. I looked around. Two wizards had appeared out of nowhere. I dropped my shield and aimed a Stunner at one which, miraculously, hit. The second one aimed his wand at me and my own flew out of my hand. Panicking, I dodged a spell and began to sing the first song that popped into my head.

"Don't wanna be an American idiot! One nation controlled by the – "

I stopped singing. My remaining attacker had fallen over into the gutter, stiff as a board. "Thank God for Green Day," I muttered. I stunned the second one, and then removed the Body Bind. I sighed. "Now what?" I wondered aloud.

Then I saw the dumpster.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** This one was rather short, wasn't it? Sorry. Chapter fifteen will be about as short as this one. I suppose I could have combined them, but I didn't feel like messing with my chapter files. _

_I don't know how many of you are into horror movies, but I'm looking for a movie about killer bees I saw at least ten years ago. It's likely I saw it on television, but I can't remember the title or who was in it. I remember there was a little girl who got stung very badly and she had a pet bunny. Anyone have any ideas? _

_Anyway, please review! Chapter fifteen is almost finished, and it may be up soon. No promises, because as soon as I make you lot a promise, I won't be able to keep it. _


	15. Nazi England

An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Fifteen

_Nazi England_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** This chapter is for the littlest, most adorable Harry Potter fan, Carmen Michelle L., who was born on Friday, August 7th at 12:42 pm. Mommy and baby are doing fine and went home the next Monday. Yay! _

_I just realized I've been on this site for seven years, as of the third of August. Go me. Hehehe. _

_Also, just so you know, I have started school again, so expect delays, at least until the Christmas holiday. Among my classes are Technical Report Writing, and Fiction. Technical Report Writing scares me a bit (very writing-intensive), and for Fiction, I have to write something every week. And the first thing we're reading for my British Literature class is Beowulf. I read it in my twelfth grade Honors English class, and since I don't remember anything about it, I have to read it again. Not looking forward to that. If you're like me and prefer more modern literature (Beowulf was written sometime in the 7th - 12th centuries), you will understand. SIGH. _

_Anyway, enough about my school troubles. Read on, and don't forget to review! _

kimmmz: _Aw, thank you! I do try to keep things as original as possible (though it follows the books very closely). _

EasyButton: _Your question is very hard to answer without revealing things I shouldn't. So all I can say is, yes, Scott does read _Deathly Hallows_, but he doesn't come back to England to change things. He has reasons, which I can't tell you. So...yeah... _

weasleytwinsjunkie: _Aw, thank you! You're so nice. Virtual cuddle! _

delly: _It wasn't the Reaping. It focused on the bees, I know that. Also, Ivy won't be telling George about everything anytime soon. She's decided not to tell anyone about the _Harry Potter _series until after Voldemort is gone. George is curious, of course, but he knows that she's trying to keep her brother safe. _

annie-lauren: _Addictive and magnificent? Really? Hehehe. Yes, the Phelps twins are always sexy. LOL. _

sunshine'n'sarcasm: _Remember, of course, Ivy hasn't read _Deathly Hallows_, so she doesn't know for sure that Regulus is R.A.B. And we know now that Hermione doesn't really trust Ivy, so she won't mention Ivy's suggestion until Harry shows her Regulus's bedroom door. So really, she didn't really help much. But it does start the Trio wondering what exactly is up with Ivy and why Dumbledore let her come to Hogwarts. _

wendystwin: _"I seen"? Nice grammar! Take that! I mock your grammar because I love you. Ha. Anyway, Miss Keeper of the Keys, the dumpster shall be explained. Hehehe. _

* * *

"Ivy!"

Kailee's shout jolted me out of sleep and I sat up, immediately reaching for my wand. "What is it?"

"You've got a letter from the Ministry!"

I rolled my eyes and laid down again. It was the next morning, and it was early. "Go away, I'll open it later!"

She sighed. "No, Ivy, you have to see the _Prophet_ too. Your letter probably has something to do with the Muggle-born Registration Commission!"

That woke me up. "The Muggle-born _what_?"

She thrust today's copy of the _Daily Prophet_ at me. I snatched the paper from her as I realized what I was looking at. Harry's face filled the front page, and the bold headline above it read **WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, looking up at Kailee in shock. "What are they trying to do, make it seem like _Harry_ killed him?"

"That's what it says," she said, pointing at the small article below Harry's picture. "But look at page two!"

I turned the page. There was another bold headline, **Muggle-born Register**. My eyes narrowed slightly as I read the article.

_The Ministry for Magic is undertaking a survey of so-called "Muggle-borns," the better to understand how they came to possess magical secrets. _

_Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when Wizards reproduce. Where no proven Wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or by force. _

_The Ministry is determined to root out such usurpers of magical power, and to this end has issued an invitation to every so-called Muggle-born to present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Commission._

"Ugh!" I said in disgust. "If I have to wear a yellow Star of David or something like that, I might just have to kill J. K. Rowling myself!" I took the envelope from Kailee and ripped it open.

_Dear Miss Wolfe, _

_Our records show that your Blood Status is Muggle-born. That being the case, we kindly request that you present yourself to the Muggle-born Registration Commission for interview. The Muggle-born Registration Commission seeks to obtain a complete and detailed register of all Muggle-born persons living in Britain and Ireland. _

_We must ask that you complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it by owl to the Muggle-born Registration Commission by no later than 9 September. Once we receive and review your questionnaire, you will receive a notice containing the date and time of your interview. _

_Sincerely, _

_Dolores Jane Umbridge _

_Senior Undersecretary to the Minster _

_Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission_

"Oh, she _would_ be, wouldn't she?"

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. "Umbridge is the Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission." She gasped and snatched the letter from my hands. I opened the envelope and pulled out the questionnaire. It seemed pretty basic, but I knew they would just twist around everything I wrote down.

"What are you going to do?" Kailee asked worriedly.

I shrugged. "Send in the questionnaire, I guess." Her eyes widened. "It'll get them off my back for a while so I can figure out a way to go into hiding."

"Why don't you ask the Order – "

"No," I said abruptly. "I can hide myself better than the Order can hide me, you know that. And the Weasleys are connected with the Order, and they must know I'm dating George. There has to be more to it that just going into hiding."

"Ivy – "

"If they think I'm being a good little Mudblood and going along with everything, they'll leave me alone for a while."

She gave me a look. "George isn't going to like this."

I laughed darkly. "George isn't going to like much of the stuff I'm going to do."

* * *

Later that afternoon, I stood at the counter at Gringotts, watching the goblin (whose name I'd already forgotten) writing in a ledger. The bank's entry hall was nearly empty, except for a wizard in long black robes, who'd sneered at me when I walked into the bank. My hand was still on my wand in my pocket.

"Now, Miss Wolfe," the goblin said finally. He pushed a piece of parchment and a quill towards me. "If you'll just sign at the bottom."

I scanned the parchment quickly, then scribbled my name on the line at the bottom. I pushed the parchment back across the counter.

"And your key, Miss?"

I nodded. "Of course." I took the key out of my pocket and dropped it on the counter.

He bowed his head briefly. "Have a good day, Miss Wolfe."

"Thank you." I turned away, keeping one hand in my pocket on my wand and the other on the strap of my backpack hidden under my cloak.

"Ivy!"

The shout echoed in the marble hall. I turned, blushing, to see George hurrying my way from the door that led to the vaults. I stopped, and he caught up to me. "Odd to see you out of Muggle clothes," he commented brightly, grinning happily at me.

I gaped at him. His hair was longer – much longer than it should have been after only half a day. It now hung to just below his chin, hiding his missing ear well. It actually looked a bit like James and Oliver's hair in _Goblet of Fire_. Not quite, but almost. Maybe a bit shorter.

His grin faded. "What?" he asked worriedly.

"No–nothing," I said quickly, forcing my thoughts away from the Phelps twins. I glanced back at the black-robed wizard, who was scowling at me again, probably because I was talking to a pureblood. I nibbled on my bottom lip. "Isn't it the wrong time for Muggle clothes, George?" I turned away quickly, hurrying out of the bank. George followed on my heels.

As soon I stepped out of the golden doors, I was hit with an icy shower of rain. I pulled up the hood of my cloak. The whole day had been dark and dreary, raining on and off, the temperature a good deal lower than it had been the day before.

"I suppose you're right," said George. He was holding a hand above his head to shield his eyes from the rain. "I didn't expect to see you in Diagon Alley today."

I shrugged. "I had errands to take care of."

"Well, if you're finished, I'll walk you home," he offered. "Fred can handle things for a while without me."

I bit my lip some more, staring down at the cobbled stone of the street. "You can prove who you are, then? I can defend myself very well with or without a wand."

His hand squeezed my shoulder, and he leaned close to my ear and whispered, "We're certain we're going to marry each other."

Alarmed, I looked around, sure I was going to find a Death Eater listening in. "You shouldn't talk about that in the middle of Diagon Alley!" I exclaimed quietly.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked indignantly.

I touched his arm. "Please, George, I don't want Death Eaters coming after you."

He covered my hand with his. "All right," he said, though he looked disappointed.

Once we got into the Leaky Cauldron, I pushed my hood back and George shook out his wet hair.

"Ivy." Kailee headed over to me, carrying a large paper bag. "I got your butterbeer, and there's a bottle of firewhisky in there for me."

I nodded, taking the bag and peeking inside. "Cool."

"Hi George," she said, smiling at him. "You grew your hair out."

"Yeah, just this morning," he said, pulling his fingers through his wet hair.

"Has Fred done his as well?" I snickered, and she glared at me.

He smirked. "Of course. It's no fun if _everyone_ can tell us apart, is it?" She rolled her eyes. "I was going to walk home with Ivy. Are you coming?"

She looked at me. "Don't worry," I said, "he's definitely George."

"Well, if you're sure, I think I'll make myself scarce. Perhaps I'll see if Fred needs a hand – "

I started giggling. "I'm sure he's _love_ a hand from _you_." I teased. George snickered.

Kailee hit me very hard, nearly making me drop the bag. "In the _shop_, you freak!"

George laughed out loud. "I'll bet there are plenty of places he'd like your hands."

She hit him next. "I hate the both of you!"

"Aw, but Kailee, I love you so!"

"Whatever," she sighed. "See you at dinner?"

I knew she meant the Order dinner that night at Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's new home. With a Fidelius Charm on it, it was more secure than the Burrow since the fall of the Ministry. "Yeah."

I left the Leaky Cauldron with George. The rain had let up to just a light sprinkle, and I didn't bother pulling up the hood of my cloak. We set off down Charing Cross Road toward my apartment. George insisted on carrying the bag of butterbeer and firewhisky. The rain stopped by the time we reached my apartment. Snoopy was curled up on the couch, and only lifted his head briefly when we came in. I dropped my bag on the floor behind the couch (where it made a loud noise, thanks to an Undetectable Expansion Charm that Kailee had helped me with) while George shut the door. I faced him. "You can put that in the kitchen, I sup– "

He put a finger to my lips. Then he set the bag on the table behind the couch and kissed me. I tangled my fingers in his still-wet hair as he took off my cloak and tossed it over the back of the couch.

"I've been so worried about you," he said quietly. His hands slid around my back and held me close as he kissed me some more.

"I was – worried about you – too," I said between kisses. "Kailee said – Death Eaters – "

"I'm fine." He tugged on the end of my ponytail. "I'm just glad you're all right."

I kissed him again, clutching the front of his magenta robes. "I love you."

He pulled away, his nose still touching mine. He stared into my eyes, and a warm tingly feeling spread through my body. "I love you," he whispered, smiling.

I smiled and touched his cheek, then threaded my fingers up into his hair. "I love your hair."

He grinned. "You think it's sexy?"

"Of course." I nibbled on my bottom lip. "Very sexy."

He kissed me again, then sighed. "Have you seen the _Prophet_ today?"

"Yes, I have," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's so stupid. I bet Voldemort has Hitler posters on his wall."

George looked confused. "What?"

I raised my eyebrows. "_Please_ tell me you've heard of Nazi Germany."

"Oh. Yeah." He smiled slightly. "What happened to you after the wedding?"

"I went to Grimmauld Place – "

"_Why_?" George exclaimed. "Snape can get in there!"

"He wasn't there, George. Harry, Ron, and Hermione showed up there, though."

"You saw them?"

I nodded. "They're fine. Ron mentioned something about being followed, they might have run into some Death Eaters. I did too, on Hanway Street on my way back here."

His eyes widened. "Are you – ?"

I waved the question away. "I'm fine. I Stunned them and levitated them into a nearby dumpster." His mouth fell open slightly. "I'm not going to run like that again, George," I said seriously. "Not even if you ask me to."

He sighed and touched my cheek gently. "I thought so."

I smiled and hugged him tightly. "God, I'm so glad you're all right," I whispered, kissing his cheek. "I was there when Harry got your dad's Patronus, but..." George kissed the top of my head. I swallowed. "They broke into our apartment, but Kailee was still at the Burrow, and I hadn't left Grimmauld Place. The landlord's Muggle, so we had to report it to the police."

He sighed. "You were lucky. Dedalus Diggle's house was burned down, and they used the Cruciatus Curse on Andromeda and Ted."

I gasped at the mention of Tonks's parents, looking up at him. "Are they okay?"

He nodded. "Dedalus wasn't there, of course, he's still with the Dursleys. And Andromeda and Ted are fine, just a bit shaken. They were trying to find out where Harry was."

"Well, hopefully they haven't found him at Grimmauld Place," I said. I nodded toward the couch as I picked up the bag. "Sit down, I'll put this stuff in the kitchen."

When I returned from the kitchen, George was sitting on the couch, scratching Snoopy's ears, and holding the questionnaire sheet and the ministry letter from Umbridge. I sighed, and he looked around at me, glaring. "You were just going to send it in?" he demanded, standing up.

I walked around the couch. "George, relax, I – "

"No, Ivy, I won't let you be chucked in Azkaban!"

"George – "

"Go to the Order, they can hide you – "

"George!" I shouted suddenly. He fell silent, still looking angry. "Don't worry about me."

"Ivy – "

"Please. You think I'm just going to walk into the Ministry for that hearing? You don't think I might have a plan?"

He stared at me for a moment, then touched my cheek. "What are you thinking?"

I bit my lip. "Well, I haven't exactly thought it all through yet – " He gave an annoyed sigh and dropped his hand. I gave him a look. "I'm going to let them think I'm going along with things, and then the morning of my hearing, I'm just going to...disappear." I wiggled my fingers in the air for dramatic effect.

"Disappear?" he repeated doubtfully.

I nodded. "I know where I'm going, and no one will be able to follow me there."

"Where?"

I smiled slightly. "I can't tell you that. You'd follow me."

He gave me a look. "At least let the Order – "

"I'm not asking the Order for help. I know what I'm doing, George. You have to trust me. _Please_."

He watched me for a moment, then sighed in defeat. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. "I trust you," he whispered. "But you're incredibly stubborn."

I smiled. "I know."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Crappy ending, I know. Bleh. I got lazy there. Hehehe. Also, I wasn't too sure about the various Nazi Germany references, particularly the one about the Star of David. But I decided only Nazis would be offended, so whatever. _

_Hmm... Chapter sixteen is nowhere near finished yet, so don't expect me to update anytime soon. Remember though, reviews distract me from schoolwork and motivate me to work on fan fiction. LOL. Hopefully, sixteen will turn out as well as I hope, and you will enjoy it. _

_I have to get started on reading Beowulf now. Bleh. Don't forget to review! This series has a total of 174 reviews, which is awesome! That makes me feel good about myself. Thank you all! Wouldn't it be cool if we made it to 200? (hint hint)_


	16. The Fellowship of the Eagle

_An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III_

Chapter Sixteen

_The Fellowship of the Eagle_

* * *

_**Author's Note: **AND SHE APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE. Yes, this is an actual chapter! I won't bore you with excuses, but the main reason this took so long is because I had a major case of writer's block. Believe it or not._

_I also need to work on rewriting chapter six of part one, because as EasyButton made me realize in a review, I haven't gone very much into exactly HOW Ivy and Lee are related. My reply: __**Please keep in mind that Lee is black, and Ivy isn't. Once I finally finish rewriting chapter six of Part I, I'll have a part where someone mentions this very obvious fact. So don't worry, it's not just you. I should have mentioned it somewhere, but I guess I forgot. Anyway, Ivy is related to the Jordans very distantly, by marriage.**_

_I had to put in a Fellowship of the Ring joke, because, well, how could I not? Lol._

weasleytwinsjunkie: _I would guess that JKR drew on a lot of Nazi Germany aspects when writing this stuff. I mean, if you want the most evil government possible, you go to Nazi Germany, right? I would. And any boy looks good in long hair. Not too long, of course. It's my weakness. Lol._

wendystwin: _Liar! You know you liked it! You were laughing, I heard you._

sunshine'n'sarcasm: _Hahaha. Exploding brains. Is it odd that I find that funny? Something's wrong with me..._

FoxyGirl0413: _I laugh maniacally as I think of my evil plans. Hehehe._

Neffa: _The violent-reader-proof shelter is coming along quite nicely. I won't be needing it anytime soon, though._

EasyButton: _Despite the events of this chapter, going back to America is NOT Ivy's plan. That's all I'm saying, because nothing really goes according to her plan anyway._

Tsukuda Sumiko: _I rarely update soon. It is a sad fact of life. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway._

Misssyl: _Thank you, I'm glad you like it._

Heaven's Archer: _Aw thanks! Sorry it took so long, but writer's block sucks._

SwiftShadows13: _I'm glad you like it, and I hope you see this._

Too tired to think of 1: _Nice name. Lol. But nope, no spoilers!_

ordinari: _THANK YOU, I WILL!_

fork-spoon-fork: _1. Thank you! 2. I'm sorry! 3. I HAVE NO IDEA. People be crazy. Lol._

Ryn of Magic: _Sorry it took so long. And thank you!_

gemenii42: _Thank you!_

sophiehalliwell: _Thank you!_

Enchantedx: _NOT UNFINISHED! Never unfinished! This story is my baby and I will never leave it unfinished. Writer's block just sucks._

_**Disclaimer: **Not mine, blah blah blah._

* * *

That evening, George and I went to the Burrow for the Order dinner. Almost everyone was there, except for Bill and Fleur, who were spending their honeymoon in their little seaside cottage in Cornwall. Much of the dinner was spent just talking about random things, anything but Order business, while Kingsley and Mr. Weasley checked the house for eavesdropping spells.

Mrs. Weasley asked Kailee about her parents, and she explained that they were back in America, and instead of returning to California, had settled on a many-acre property in Clive, Iowa, which I'd never heard of. Kailee explained that it was close to Des Moines, which was probably the only city in Iowa I knew.

Kingsley and Mr. Weasley returned to the table halfway through dessert – cinnamon rice pudding – interrupting Fred and Charlie's conversation about whether the Chudley Cannons had any better chance in the league that season.

"We seem to be safe for the moment," Mr. Weasley said as he and Kingsley sat at the table. "I would like to get through these assignments as quickly as possible. Kingsley?"

Kingsley nodded, and everyone sat up a little straighter. "As part of the silent coup that has taken place at the Ministry, Pius Thicknesse has replaced Scrimgeour as Minister for Magic. He has the Department of International Magical Cooperation keeping up the appearance that nothing has changed within the Ministry, and the threat from Voldemort is under control. Ivy."

I looked at Kingsley in surprise, frozen with a spoonful of pudding halfway to my mouth. "Huh?"

"Do you know of the Fellowship of the Eagle?"

It sounded vaguely familiar, but then, I might have been thinking of the Fellowship of the Ring. And I doubted Kingsley wanted me to drop the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. "No."

"It is a militia, older than the United States itself. The Order hasn't been in contact with the Fellowship since 1982, when a large number of remaining Death Eaters infiltrated the United States and staged massive attacks on numerous Muggle and Wizarding towns on the Eastern Seaboard. Their numbers have grown quite a bit since then, and they have bases in almost every state."

I stared at Kingsley, a little surprised. This Fellowship sounded a bit like the Army National Guard. "But – why do I have to go?"

Kingsley smiled slightly. "You are the most familiar with Muggle travel. Magical routes out of the country are being heavily watched by Ministry. Muggle boats and ferries out of the country are being watched as well, but only a couple wizards have been placed at airports, as there are precious few wizards who trust aeroplanes over broomsticks. As long as you are well-disguised and act as Muggle as possible, you should be able to get by them with no trouble."

It didn't sound like he was giving me any choice. "Where exactly am I going?"

He smiled triumphantly, leaning back in his chair. "While the Fellowship's existence is not a secret, the true location of their headquarters is closely guarded. Rumor suggests it is on South Padre Island, an island off the Gulf Coast of Texas. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that area – "

I shook my head. "My mom was from Amarillo, farther north, and I haven't been to Texas since I was nine. But I'll be able to find my way around."

Kingsley nodded. "Excellent. We will arrange Polyjuice Potion and a fake Muggle passport – "

"Can I go with her?"

Everyone looked around at George. "George, I'm perfectly capable – "

"Safety in numbers, love," he interrupted me, then looked back at Kingsley. "Kingsley?"

"That would be wise, Ivy," said Kingsley.

I shrugged, though I was quickly beginning to worry. "Sounds fine to me."

And so it was set. After a call to London's Gatwick Airport (made by me), George and I had a flight to Manchester at 6:45 the next morning. From there we'd take a flight to New York City, then Houston, then down to a smaller airport, Harlingen.

It was also decided that we should disguise ourselves. I was fairly noticeable, and George even more so. A Weasley leaving the country would be sure to raise alarm bells for any Death Eaters watching. So we were going to be John and Helen Bannister, a recently married couple going on holiday in the States.

After dinner, the Order dispersed. Remus and Hestia Jones came with George, Kailee and I to our apartment. Remus and Hestia would be going to be masquerading as George and I while we were in America, so as not to arouse any suspicions.

While Hestia and George began working on mine and George's passports, and Remus went to find some Muggles to steal some hair from, I grabbed Kailee's hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. "Come help me pack!" I said.

"What exactly – " she began as I closed the door.

"Shh! _Muffliato_," I said, flicking my wand at the door. "This is such a bad idea," I fretted, heading straight to my closet.

"It can't be that bad. I mean, the only people that know about Harry Potter are wizards and witches."

I sighed. "I know, but there is the fact that there's a nine-year-old me, a four-year-old Scott, and their two perfectly healthy, not-dead parents." I put my duffle bag on Kailee's bed and unzipped it.

"What?" Kailee gasped.

I glanced at her, rolling my eyes. "And there's a sixteen-year-old Britney Spears with a full head of hair. Crazy, this whole parallel dimension thing."

"You never told me that!"

I shrugged distractedly as I searched through my closet for something I could stand to wear in what was sure to be hundred-degree weather in southern Texas. "I thought you knew. And that's not really the point."

"What is the point?"

I sighed, pausing in my packing. "If I'm seen in America – if the wrong people think I'm in contact with my friends in America..." I tucked some loose hair behind my ear. "And I'm worried that if they try to dig into my life in the States, they'll find _her_."

She was quiet for a moment. "Surely Dumbledore did something. He must have known that if someone tried to find information about you in America, they would have found her."

I nodded. _"Doesn't miss a trick, that man," _I remembered Mr. Weasley saying once, in _Chamber of Secrets_.

"Just relax. We're going to change yours and George's appearances, Hestia will be here under Polyjuice Potion, pretending to be you, and Remus will do the same as George. No one will even know you're gone."

I frowned. "I hope so." I wasn't worried about Hestia's accent (she would get mine with the Polyjuice Potion), but she used all the British phrases and vocabulary that I didn't. Well, lately, I'd been muttering 'bloody hell' under my breath. But tonight, Kailee was going to go over my vocabulary with her.

I sighed. "This is still a really bad idea. I was _nine_ in 1997. Other than _Harry Potter_, I barely know anything about Muggle popular culture in 2007, much less 1997. And I have to act like I do because George will be there."

There was a knock on the door. "Ivy?"

I raised my wand and removed the spell. "Come in, George."

He came in grinning. "Hey, love." I smiled at him.

"I'm going to see how Hestia is coming on your passports," Kailee said before hurrying out of the room.

George sat on Kailee's bed next to my duffle bag. "I've never been to America," he said. "It'll be a nice holiday."

"It's not a holiday, George, it's a mission for the Order."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "You're worried, aren't you?"

"I'm fine, George," I lied. I sifted through the hangers blindly, not really paying attention to what was on them.

A moment later, he had stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist. "It'll be fine, love. No one will know we're gone." His fingers slipped under my shirt. "I'll take care of you, darling."

I shivered as he whispered in my ear. I turned in his arms and kissed him. "I need to pack." He decided to ignore me, and he kissed me again. I let him for a moment, then I pulled away. "You need to pack too."

He sighed. "You're ruining my fun, Ivy."

I smirked. "I'm ruining my own fun, honey."

He laughed and kissed me again. "Okay, I'll go home and pack, and then I'll come back and spend the night here."

"That sounds great."

He kissed me before leaving. As I turned back to the closet to continue packing, my smile slipped from my face. Surrounded by all things American, it would be much harder to keep my mouth shut about the _Harry Potter _books.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **The other part of why this took so long was because I needed to research and invent some things for the next four chapters, which comprises Ivy and George's trip to the States. Rowling doesn't give us much information about the Wizarding world in America, and I wanted to have everything set in stone._

_One last thing. Pottermore, guys, OMG! I love it so much, all the exclusive content. Especially McGonagall's back-story. She's quickly become my favorite adult character. Add me, okay? StarRain191!_


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